The Third Wife

Slow moving the story unfolds to reveal dark turbulence under the calm and beautiful exterior.

Exquisitely crafted mood piece is an atmospheric but low-key evocation of the subtly venal position our heroine finds herself in - interesting that the absence of the "male gaze" does result in a film (welcomely) less interested in the physical nature of the marriage, and more the kinship and sisterhood between the harem of wives. Its deliberate pacing does ultimately work somewhat against it, and the ultimate resolution is somewhat unsatisfying, but still an interesting and engrossing effort.

They clearly wanted to make this beautiful, and in quite a few individual scenes they succeed (less so in the outdoor ones that appear as if they haven't been color graded...). Overall, the visual language is stilted and doesn't come together. Editing and storytelling are ham-fisted, not just for an Asian movie. The metaphors are heavy-handed as well (and had I seen the ridiculous poster before, I could have expected that). Nice throwback to the 80's with the old wise bearded Asian though! ;)