Film "The Third Wife" ceased releasing at box offices

"The Third Wife" is a painterly drama that draws cinematographic enthusiasts into a cloistered world of an 18th-century family whose is a landowner. Through the running time, viewers would experience every moment of touch, be it tolerated, happy and feared. The film starts at a remote, lovely stretch of a river-run valley, 14-year-old May gets married to the old landowner as the youngest of his three mistresses. He desires another son as two other older wives fail to give birth. Later, May is pregnant that brings to her husband happiness and hope. In the meantime, she feels her true sexuality when living closely with Xuan, the second free-spirit wife who falls in love with her husband's son and engages in secret affairs with him.

The film illustrates injustice suffered by Vietnamese women in the feudal regime and old customs such as child marriage, gender prejudice, and polygamy. It won many prestigious awards, including Best Asian Film at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. The indie movie has commercially shown in 28 countries and territories before screening in Vietnam.

After a few days of release at many national cinemas raised a controversy. Under critics' point-of-view, suggestive scenes between a 13-year-old girl and an old man are wholly against the ethics of the Orient. The release of The Third Wife has received such public criticism that producer Ngoc Tran decided to cease screening in the local country. Since she does not want to create an impact on the young actress's personal life and family. According to Ngoc, the film does not deserve to be deliberately criticised. Instead, public criticism should turn on child sexual abuse in reality. Also, shooting these scenes were undergone with the witness of the actress's parents. At the moment, there are a lot of pros and cons of a ban on this film.