Written and directed by Ash Mayfair
Starring Le Vu Long, Tran Nu Yen Khe, Nguyen Thanh Tam and Mai Thu Huong Maya
MPAA rating: R for sexual content
Running time: 1 hour and 36 minutes

by Stacey Osbeck

Deep in the rural mountains of 19th century Vietnam, May (Nguyen Phuong Tra My), at only fourteen, meets her wealthy husband, Hung (Le Vu Long), on the day of their wedding. May is his third wife, not a replacement for wives long past, but a third meaning in addition to. The first wife, Ha (Tran Nu Yen Khe), bore Hung a male heir, Son (Nguyen Thanh Tam), who is now a young man. No others boys have been born since Son, which is why May is here. The second wife, Xuan (Mai Thu Huong Maya), has only produced daughters and cannot yet be considered truly part of the clan. This family dynamic acts as the foundation on which writer-director Ash Mayfair builds her feature debut, The Third Wife.