The Third Wife

It is a beautifully crafted and deeply atmospheric film. The cinematography is one of its strongest aspects, with elegant compositions and a soft, natural visual style that perfectly complements the story. The tale unfolds slowly and quietly, making the film feel contemplative rather than plot-driven. The restoration and transfer are also very impressive, preserving the delicate textures, colors, and mood of the film with great care. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack, which adds to its immersive and meditative atmosphere. While I admired it more than I fully connected with it, this is still a visually striking and thoughtfully made film.

Slow paced sensuality

A deeply harrowing yet disarmingly gorgeous tale about the role of women in 19th-century Vietnam centered around the wives of a landowner. The movie handles heavy subjects delicately and compassionately but doesn't pull any punches when necessary, the ending will stay with me for a while.

The cinematography on this one was breathtaking! I really enjoyed the entire affair all the way through! I especially enjoy the awesome VS stacking of shipping which lets me add as many movies as I like! The peerless VS restoration transfer process was on full display with stellar sound and picture! Thank you, VS, for continuing to lovingly restore and release so many wonderful films from every conceivable genre! You are keeping physical media alive in this streaming world we now live in! Highly recommended!

Womanhood, femininity and sensuality in a place where girlhood is ripped away without choice, sexual subjugation is a way of daily life, and oppression under the patriarchy is justified as the traditional way of things.

And still, director Ash Mayfair and her cast find moments and attitudes of female empowerment in spaces where you’d never expect to find them, and there are in fact, unforeseen frailties for both genders in this 19th century societal dynamic. In this way, The Third Wife builds a holistic, often ambiguous emotional response to uncomfortably intimate, yet intensely fascinating incongruities, without ever being wholly satisfying.

The visual and auditory approach of a natural world that dreamily and smokily envelopes these human hierarchies, quietly plants its faces, moods and textures, and versatile cinematographer Chananun Chotrungroj (who I’m so excited to say shot the film I recently cast) does a sensitive and captivating job of rooting the film in the single point of view of the lead character, while elevating the young girl’s performance with her camera.

It’s not just the sustained observation of a tender child overwhelmed by new circumstances and people she feels very outside of, but that the camera sits and breathes with her as she takes it all in, not uttering a word till eleven minutes in, and even then, the dialogue is incredibly sparse.

Lead actress Nguyen Phuong Tra My took the role on as a pre-teen, in what is surely one of the most challenging…