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A 14-year-old becomes the third wife of an older man in rural Vietnam, and must choose between personal freedom and safety when she develops an attraction to the second wife.
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In the late 19th century in rural Vietnam, fourteen-year-old May is given away in an arranged marriage and becomes the third wife to her older husband, Hung. May learns that she can gain status and security if she gives birth to a male child. This becomes a real possibility when she gets pregnant. However, her path is fraught with danger when May starts to develop an attraction for Xuan, the second wife. As May observes the unfolding tragedy of forbidden love and its devastating consequences, she must make a choice, to either carry on in silence and safety or forge a way towards personal freedom.
"A visual delight. Everything is metaphorical and ethereal in this film, from the animal and plant presence to the frames. Awarded at the Toronto and San Sebastián film festivals, 'The Third Wife' is the feature debut of filmmaker Ash Mayfair, who has the artistic advice of Tran Anh Hung (‘The Scent of Green Papaya’), the most recognizable contemporary Vietnamese director. ‘The Third Wife’ unfolds as a delicious poem, a portrait of female identity, sexuality and responsibility in rural Vietnam in the 19th century."