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The Third Wife

Play trailer 2:04 Poster for The Third Wife R 2019 1h 36m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 50 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
In 19th-century rural Vietnam, 14-year-old May becomes the third wife of wealthy landowner Hung. Soon, she learns that she can only gain status by asserting herself as a woman who can give birth to a male child. May's hope to change her status turns into a real and tantalizing possibility when she gets pregnant. Faced with forbidden love and its devastating consequences, May finally comes to an understanding of the brutal truth: the options available to her are few and far between.
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The Third Wife

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Critics Consensus

The Third Wife uses one woman's experiences as the framework for a reserved period drama whose haunting beauty belies its devastating impact.

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Critics Reviews

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Roxana Hadadi AWFJ.org Feb 25, 2020
The Third Wife spends its time considering the hidden depths of these women not only as defined by their individual wants but also by what society dictates upon them. Go to Full Review Matthew Lickona San Diego Reader Jul 19, 2019
3/5
Perhaps most remarkable is the contrast between the intense interior drama and the lush, languorous world in which it rages. Go to Full Review David Stratton The Australian Jul 8, 2019
3.5/5
It's certainly a curiosity for connoisseurs of Third World cinema. Go to Full Review Brandon Stanwyck InSession Film Jul 17, 2024
A
Mayfair’s first film is one well-constructed and daring examination of such injustices, and it’s absolutely worth checking out. Go to Full Review Wilson Kwong VCinema Feb 13, 2022
When it comes to cinemas growing need for more female voices, seeing someone like Mayfair create such a powerful debut is exactly what the medium needs right now. Go to Full Review Brett Pardy Seventh Row Jun 8, 2021
Ash Mayfair's The Third Wife is a powerful exercise in empathy, an exquisitely beautiful film on the surface which contains one of the bleakest portrayals of how patriarchy limits women's autonomy. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Minh N @Minhopoly Feb 3, 2026 It's pretty until it's dredggy and groanny. The film doesn't really go anywhere, and instead relies on innuendoes of injustice to muster some resemblance of a story. The wikipedia plot summary is a better story than the actual fufu vomit. See more Ryi B @RT31923339 Jan 14, 2025 It's good but it's sad See more Georgan G @RT98616417 Nov 23, 2024 A moving Vietnamese drama that is beautiful but full of despair. The women have no options in life. See more Jan 24, 2020 A beautiful and tragic drama from Vietnam. Again, this movie premiered in 2018 at TIFF but had its wider release in 2019. This movie is slow, but it's gorgeous and very well-acted. There are so many striking visuals and tons of symbolism. This movie is also very sad and very disturbing. It's about a young teenage girl in 1800s Vietnam becoming the third wife of an older man in hopes to give him a son, and it just gets worse from there. This movie deals with some very heavy subject matter and it certainly isn't for everyone, it can be pretty uncomfortable, but I thought it was great and think it's worth a watch. It's depressing, but very good. See more Lincoln K @RT85628835 Jan 22, 2020 This film has a lot of promise, and it certainly is interesting.. as we follow a 14-year old girl who becomes the third wife of a wealthy landowner in 19th century Vietnam. The photography is terrific here and the performances are good, if understated. I occasionally had trouble telling certain characters apart or understanding which of the children belonged to which wife... but eventually got my bearings in this. As a period piece about a time when women had very few options it has an inherent sadness to it.. and the ending is a bit uncertain, but intentionally so. See more nefasto r @Nefasto Nov 25, 2019 "The third Wife" cannot be compared with the beauty of "Raise the Red Lantern", but remains an immersive experience with minimal dialogs and with stunning visuals. This are the kind of films women need, not remakes of "Ghostbusters"! See more Read all reviews
The Third Wife

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Cast & Crew

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Ash Mayfair

Director

Mai Thu Huong

Xuan

Le Vu Long

Hung

Nguyen Nhu Quynh

May

Lâm Thanh Mỹ

Lien

Nhu Quynh

Actor

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The Third Wife

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The Third Wife

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 19th-century rural Vietnam, 14-year-old May becomes the third wife of wealthy landowner Hung. Soon, she learns that she can only gain status by asserting herself as a woman who can give birth to a male child. May's hope to change her status turns into a real and tantalizing possibility when she gets pregnant. Faced with forbidden love and its devastating consequences, May finally comes to an understanding of the brutal truth: the options available to her are few and far between.
Director
Ash Mayfair
Producer
Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, Ash Mayfair
Screenwriter
Ash Mayfair
Distributor
Film Movement
Rating
R (Sexual Content)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Vietnamese
Release Date (Theaters)
May 15, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 10, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$81.0K
Runtime
1h 36m
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