In 19th-century rural Vietnam, 14-years-old May is to be the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Her new home seems idyllic, her husband favours her, and she quickly becomes pregnant. But trouble is quietly brewing: she witnesses a forbidden tryst that sparkles a chain reaction of misfortunes.

In this sensual debut from Ash Mayfair, the pastoral sumptuousness of rural life in feudal Vietnam belies the systematic cruelty of patriarchal traditions and values. Brimming with forbidden yearning, the film’s portrayal of women’s subjugation remains startlingly relevant in our contemporary times.