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In 19th century rural Vietnam, May is ready to become the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Little does she know that her hidden desires will force her to decide between living in safety and being free.
May 15, 2019 | Theatrical Limited (8 locations)
Other Key Dates
Sep 7, 2018 (Toronto International Film Festival (Canada))
Sep 21, 2018 ()
Oct 4, 2018 (Milano Film Festival (Italy))
Oct 8, 2018 (Busan International Film Festival (South Korea))
Oct 12, 2018 (Warsaw Film Festival (Poland))
Oct 17, 2018 (Chicago International Film Festival (USA))
Oct 21, 2018 ()
Nov 1, 2018 (Kolkata International Film Festival (India))
Nov 1, 2018 (Virginia Film Festival (USA))
Nov 2, 2018 (Minsk International Film Festival (Belarus))
Nov 8, 2018 (Asian Film Festival Barcelona (Spain))
Nov 11, 2018 (Denver International Film Festival (USA))
Nov 14, 2018 (San Diego Asian Film Festival (USA))
Nov 23, 2018 (Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (Hong Kong))
Nov 27, 2018 (Cairo International Film Festival (Egypt))
Jan 9, 2019 (Palm Springs International Film Festival (USA))
Jan 25, 2019 ()
Feb 21, 2019 (Glasgow Film Festival (UK))
Feb 22, 2019 (Dublin Film Festival (Ireland))
Feb 22, 2019 (Bengaluru International Film Festival (India))
Mar 1, 2019 (Belgrade Film Festival (Serbia))
Mar 2, 2019 (Borderlines Film Festival (UK))
Mar 6, 2019 (CinemAsia Film Festival (Netherlands))
Mar 7, 2019 (Luxembourg City Film Festival (Luxembourg))
Mar 14, 2019 (Cinequest Film Festival (USA))
Mar 16, 2019 (Fribourg International Film Festival (Switzerland))
Mar 25, 2019 (Prague International Film Festival (Czechia))
Mar 30, 2019 (Costa Rica International Film Festival (Costa Rica))
Apr 2, 2019 (Cleveland International Film Festival (USA))
Apr 5, 2019 (Istanbul Film Festival (Turkey))
May 11, 2019 (Ho Chi Minh City premiere (Vietnam))
May 17, 2019 (Seattle International Film Festival (USA))
Jun 5, 2019 (Sydney Film Festival (Australia))
Aug 6, 2019 ()
Aug 19, 2019 (DVD & Blu-ray premiere (UK))
Sep 10, 2019 (Digital, DVD & Blu-ray premiere (USA))
Apr 21, 2020 (internet MOOOV Film Festival (Belgium))
$6,937
$84,933
$251,285
$336,218
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 1.66 : 1
Country of Origin: Vietnam
Set in the 19th century, it follows a 14-year-old girl who becomes the third wife to a landowner in rural northern Vietnam.14-year-old May is married off as the third wife to a middle-aged landowner of a rural village where silk is harvested. She soon finds that, having given birth to a son, the first wife exerts greater influence in the family than the second, who has only had three daughters, and that the only way to gain security and independence is to give birth to a male child. Her husband’s wives are welcoming to her and when she expresses that she finds sex painful they urge her to experiment sexually with herself in order to understand her own desires.May conceives a child. While this brings further intimacy between May and her husband she continues to find him unappealing and rejects his sexual advances. She discovers that Xuan, the second wife, is having an affair with the landowner’s son from mistress Ha, his first wife. Due to May rejecting her husband, he returns to his first wife and conceives a child with her as well. May prays her own child is a son who will secure her position within the family.Mistress Ha has a miscarriage and May blames her prayer for a son as the reason for it. She is reassured by Xuan who tells her that throughout her pregnancies she too prayed for sons. May realizes that she has burgeoning feelings for Xuan and kisses her. Xuan rejects May’s advances, brushing it off as a symptom of her pregnancy and telling her she loves her like a daughter. May gives birth to a girl.Mistress Ha’s son is of marrying age and his parents conceive of a match for him. In love with Xuan, he tries to refuse marriage, threatening suicide. He is nevertheless pressured to marry a young girl around May’s age. Son is disgusted with the marriage and refuses to tough his new bride. After begging his father to annul the marriage his father attempts to do so, but is rejected by the bride’s father. Ashamed the young bride commits suicide.May contemplates poisoning her daughter with a plant she saw being used to euthanize the family’s livestock. The film ends with one of Xuan’s daughters, who had once expressed desire to become a man and have many wives, cutting her hair with a pair of scissors.
In 19th century rural Vietnam, fourteen-year-old May is ready to become the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Little does she know that her hidden desires will take her by surprise and force her to make a choice between living in safety and being free.