In 19th century Vietnam, 14-year-old girl May is traveling on a flowery decorated boat through a beautiful valley. She is meant to become the third wife of a much older landlord. Red lanterns light up, and their first night unfolds well. Knowing how things will work out, Mai quickly befriends the other two wives and hangs out with the second wife’s daughter like sisters. As she is reaching adulthood and discovering her sexuality, she wants to give birth to a son in order to improve her status in the family. Things seem to be going well as she becomes pregnant, but then she finds out that the second wife is having an affair with the full grown son of the first wife. Mai herself feels an affection for the second wife as well. In an era where servants can be severely punished for getting pregnant without their master’s permission, multi-layered emotions concerning growth, taboo, freedom and extreme choices are aesthetically depicted. If seen only as Oriental eroticism, the girl’s coming-of-age theme, still very relevant today, might be under-looked. (Park Sungho)