Mistress Dispeller: Movie Review

Director: Elizabeth Lo

An intriguing documentary that sensitively handles the issue of infidelity in a surprisingly frank and different way, Elizabeth Lo's Mistress Dispeller begins and closes with a view of one woman getting her hair done.

With extreme close-ups, Lo follows Mistress Dispeller Wang Zhenxi, a person for hire who enters into relationships that are going wrong to help mend what's broken and break the cycle.

But what actually happens is that Wang joins a Mrs Li to hear of her suspicions and of her heartbreak when she received a random text on her husband's phone that shattered her world. Opining that his heart is elsewhere, she opens up to Wang who then ingratiates herself into both the life of the couple and the mistress Fei Fei who's travelling to see her man.

While Mistress Dispeller could have been a salacious look at the implosion of a marriage, Lo's careful and mindful grasp of the situation shows that everyone involved has emotions - and with a great deal of empathy, Lo's surprisingly subtle film uncovers the gravity of the situation and even the hardship of the mistress who Wang always believes are the ones who suffer the most.

There is a complexity knit through this film that keeps its subjects both close and the morals of the situation under control. Winsomely shot rather than excessively over-played, the honesty of the trio is what helps as well - especially given there's no feeling of an overarching control and narrative during this - it merely organically plays out.

Mistress Dispeller is a subtle explanation of the idea that there's always more than one side to every story - and while the tale of infidelity is universal, the intimacy of this documentary is more than engaging.

Mistress Dispeller is playing as part of the NZIFF - for more details, visit nziff.co.nz