Parents' Guide to The Last Wife

This Vietnamese period romantic drama is a bit too long but has sumptuous visuals and a strong leading cast. With a few exceptions, there's a lot to like about The Last Wife and its depiction of class inequity and the tyranny of a local governor who has too much power. But mainly this is a story of a perilous romance that is threatened by this power and the larger rules of life that restrict women to subservient roles in village life. There just aren't a lot of options for women in this period and culture, it seems, and the selfish governor who rules the village seems totally untouchable. He easily gets away with murder, overly taxing the poor, stealing, fraud, sexual coercion, and blackmail.

Therefore, it's a shame that the governor as primary villain here is either poorly cast or poorly directed (or both). The audience should arguably be terrified of him, but instead most will be more terrified of his "first wife," who seems more willing to dole out awful punishments to his "third wife" and her young child. Instead of being scary, the governor very often comes across as a little comical and a little stupid. Sure, he'll lose his temper here and there, but even then, he's not that threatening. Thus, the film bounces between a serious romance epic tone and a comical one, and many might feel it would have been better served if it had chosen one tone.