The Third Wife 2018

   The setting of this film is in 19th century rural Vietnam.  May is a fourteen-year-old girl and it is time for her to become the third wife of a wealthy landowner.  She quickly learns that she will need to choose between living in safety or being free?
     The plot for this film is based on the true life stories of Ash Mayfair’s grandparents and great-grandparents.  His relatives went through the same experiences at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.   The film's release in Vietnam was 17 May 2019 but it was pulled by producers under pressure from authorities.  There was criticism for allowing the lead actress at the age of 13 to be involved in sex scenes.  These scenes were filmed with a female only crew and under her mother’s supervision.  The scenery of the area is very beautiful and so are the women actresses.  The pace is very leisurely and some of the events pertain to a culture that we don't understand.  4* (I really liked this movie)

96 min, Drama directed and written by Ash Mayfair with Hong Chuong Nguyen, Long Le Vu, Nu Yen-the Tran, Maya, Nguyen Phuong Tra My, Nhu Quynh, Nguyen, Nguyen Thanh Tam, Mai Cat Vi, Khanh An Tang, Trung Anh, Thi Kim Ngan Pham, Bay Ngoc Vu, Thi Huyen Nguyen, Anh Tin Nguyen.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10 with 1124 views, Rotten Tomatoes, 90% with 39 critics 68% with 47 audience ratings, Washington Post 3* out of 5* Hau Chu, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 21 reviews, SF Chronicle clapping, Allen Johnson, Letterboxd 3.5* out of 5*, Metacritic 71 out of 100 with 12 critics (10 positive 2 mixed) 8 out of 10 user score (4 positive, 1 mixed)

Special Note:  This is the film debut of Nguyen Phuong Tra My and she was 12-years-old when she was initially cast as the lead character May.  She was chosen among 900 girls by Ash Mayfair after a nationwide casting search.  She called Mayfair personally and told him that she felt the character had been written for her.  One in every three girls in the developing world is married by the age of 18.  One in seven by the age of 15.  Modern Vietnamese law requires the man to be at least 20 years old and the woman at least 18 years old.  Both spouses are required to give free consent.  Despite this law, child marriage and arranged marriages still happen in rural areas.  Mayfair spent four months living in the area of the film setting.  He wanted to understand the customs and the way of life of local villagers.  Film production took five years with the first three years dedicated to writing the script and merging real the life experiences into a coherent story.  The cast spent one month rehearsing and living in the main house, wearing the character’s clothes and behaving as 19th century people.