The Third Wife
Elegant debut feature set in 19th century rural Vietnam, about a 14-year-old girl struggling with family politics, her own agency, and the prospect of motherhood.
Set in late-19th century Vietnam, this debut feature from writer-director Ash Mayfair is at once seductive and harrowing, transporting us to a time and place in which women are expected to stifle their longings while performing duties for the men who possess them.
Though only 14 years old, May is selected to be the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Her new home seems idyllic, her husband favours her, and she quickly becomes pregnant with what she is certain will be the desired male progeny. But trouble is quietly brewing: she witnesses a forbidden tryst that will spark a chain reaction of misfortunes – and stir in May urges that until now had been dormant. Time will prove that forces such as romantic love, sexual taboo, and female independence will find their expression in even the most repressive of circumstances.