May, die dritte Frau

Watch it with a remote in your hand, fast forward button ready to go. At 4x it is still slow, but acceptable. Did not buy the setting of 19th century. Costumes look like out of an H&M store.

A girl in 19th Century Viet Nam.

Lots of symbols to decipher and hidden lessons to be learnt here but I guess there're too many for my tastes: if I try hard and still can't make sense of something - it's the author's fault.

This said, the film is beautifully written, shot, acted and produced (while misteriously antiseptic and eerie in the music, scenography, palette and fauna depicted).

Unfortunately the value of a movie is what I get out of it and it wasn't much: women's life in a place, at a time, in specific socio-economic circumstances (something for which history books are far better); less than a dozen of artistically worthy scenes and a bit of boredom.

Filmed as late 18, early 1900s Vietnam but applies throughout the world today, especially where conservative religious precepts prevail, we see three of the main suppressors of female equality. First, we have forced marriage. Second, we have family honor (usually supposed female dishonor w/consequences). Third, infant female infanticide for, well, not being a male. Are females in many family units value ranked beneath males, livestock & Trump? Several scenes toward the end were not clear, for those not sure Nightshade was suggested, but may not have been accurately presented.

The acting here is natural and powerful and the sets are so well constructed that you actually feel like you're in late 19th century Vietnam. But I really struggled to connect in a positive way with the culture of those times.

The film, written and directed by Ash Mayfair who is making her feature debut, contains extremely striking realism amidst very slow pacing. The thought of an innocent 14-year-old girl May (Nguyen Phuong Tra My) being subjugated into an arranged marriage with a wealthy landowner, and to fulfill his sexual desires (some quite kinky) along with two other wives was a turn-off for me.

May's main role will be to produce a male heir, as the other two wives have failed to do so thus far. She also will awaken to the fact that she is attracted to other women and try to figure out if her own desires can be fulfilled. Without writing any spoilers let's just say that the circumstances of her existence in that environment will lend itself to a possible tragic finale.

All in all, the beauty of the characters and the settings could not overcome for me the starkness and negativity of the themes here and it was just not an enjoyable watch.

The movie was beautifully made, good actors and the music was excellent. The film was strangely both calm and intense at the same time. It clearly shows the woman's view of the traditions, which is still relevant today.