The Third Wife 2019

In a rural village where silk production is woven into the fabric of daily life, 14-year-old May (no last name provided) finds herself thrust into a world of polygamy as the third wife to a middle-aged landowner. As she navigates this complex web of relationships, May soon discovers that her husband’s first wife exerts significant influence over the household, thanks in part to the fact that she has borne a son, while the second wife, Xuan (no last name provided), has been blessed with three daughters. Desperate to secure her own position within the family and gain independence, May comes to realize that the only way to achieve this is by giving birth to a male child.

As May becomes more comfortable in her new role, she begins to form connections with her husband’s other wives, including Xuan, who offers words of encouragement when May confesses that sex is painful for her. This newfound camaraderie extends beyond conversation, as the three women work together to understand their own desires and needs.

May eventually conceives a child, an event that brings her closer to her husband, but she continues to find him unappealing and rejects his advances. Meanwhile, Xuan has been carrying on an affair with the landowner’s son from his first wife, Ha (no last name provided), and it is this illicit relationship that ultimately leads the landowner to return to his first wife.

As tensions rise within the household, May finds herself praying for a male child, hoping that it will secure her position in the family. Her prayer is seemingly answered when she gives birth to a boy, but this development also sparks a crisis of faith when Ha suffers a miscarriage. May blames her own prayer for the outcome, and Xuan reassures her that she too has prayed for sons during her pregnancies.

This realization marks a turning point in May’s life, as she begins to develop romantic feelings for Xuan. However, these emotions are met with rejection, as Xuan brushes them off as a symptom of pregnancy and tells May that she loves her like a daughter. May gives birth to a girl, an event that seems to cement her status as the landowner’s third wife.

As the family navigates the complexities of polygamy, the landowner’s son from his first marriage comes of age and is set up for marriage with a young girl around May’s age. However, he is disgusted by this arrangement and refuses to consummate the union, threatening suicide if forced to do so. His father attempts to annul the marriage, but it is ultimately rejected by the bride’s father.

In the aftermath of this failed marriage, the bride commits suicide, a tragic event that sends shockwaves through the household. May finds herself grappling with the meaning of life and her own place within the family as she contemplates poisoning her daughter using a plant that is commonly used to euthanize the family’s livestock. The film concludes with one of Xuan’s daughters expressing a desire to become a man and have multiple wives, symbolized by her bold decision to cut off her hair with a pair of scissors.