Portrayals of the family are a popular movie theme. Stories about the relationship between parents and children impress and amuse the audiences. The mother-daughter relationship, in particular, is complicated for many women. Mothers and daughters may seem to argue with one another constantly, even though they share deep feelings for each other. The 2009 film “Goodbye Mom” is a typical mother-daughter story about a bickering mother and daughter who come to rebuild their uneasy relationship in the face of the mother’s terminal illness.

Ae-ja is an over-achieving high school student living in Busan. Known as the “Tolstoy of Busan,” she dreams of becoming a novelist. This tomboy seems undaunted by anyone or anything, except her headstrong mother, Young-hee. As a typical older Korean mother, Young-hee has biased affections for her son, while constantly disapproving her daughter’s wild and free-spirited life. The sharp-tongued mother and daughter are always quarreling. Frustrated by her mother’s seemingly blind love for her older brother, Ae-ja moves to Seoul right after graduating high school and breaks off contact with her family for years.

Ten years have passed, but the would-be writer has not achieved any of the success she had hoped for. She is a 29-year-old woman with huge debts and a longtime boyfriend who is cheating on her. One day, Ae-ja receives a message from her mother asking her to visit Busan for her brother’s wedding. She returns to her hometown, only to find that her mother’s tough attitude toward her hasn’t changed a bit. Feeling hurt, Ae-ja plans revenge on her mother by nearly ruining her brother’s wedding ceremony with a crude joke. Just when she is pleased with the result, her mother collapses. Ae-ja learns that her mother has cancer and may only have a few months to live. But things never turn melodramatic. Ae-ja does not change overnight just because her mom is sick, and neither does her mother. Ae-ja reluctantly begins to take care of her mother, but the two women never stop bickering, as always. As time goes by, however, Ae-ja comes to learn new things about her mother and finds herself trying to restore their soured relationship before it is too late.

Despite the quite predictable, emotional plot, the movie is not carried away by sentimentality. Rather, the story unfolds in a light and fun mood, with the hilarious war of nerves between the mother and daughter constantly bringing on laughter from the audiences. The movie isn’t just focused on an ailing mother and her daughter who feels pity for her, rather depicting how they accept and prepare for their farewell in a humorous way. Without a trace of sappiness, the movie helps viewers watch the whole process in a composed manner rather than abandoning themselves in grief and tears.

The emotional mother-daughter story is definitely aimed at pulling at the heartstrings of the viewers, but audiences will find themselves smiling and shedding tears at the same time by the end of the movie.