Elizabeth Lo’s strikingly intimate portrait of a woman in China who hires a professional to infiltrate her husband and mistress’s private lives to bring an unassailable end to their affair.
When Mrs. Li discovers evidence of her husband’s infidelity, she takes drastic measures to save her marriage at all costs. She employs Wang Zhenxi, affectionately referred to as Teacher Wang, to be her “mistress dispeller.” Teacher Wang is part of a burgeoning cottage industry in China that works in precarious ways to repair failing marriages. Through calculated infiltration of Mr. Li and his mistress’s extramarital life, Teacher Wang proceeds to masterfully manipulate both parties to bring an unassailable end to their affair. Elizabeth Lo’s provocative documentary paints a spellbinding portrait of a woman for hire and delicately gains unprecedented access to the intimate private lives of all parties involved in the doomed love triangle. Mistress Dispeller is an extraordinary examination of love in the 21st century and of those willing to preserve it, by any means necessary.
—Jordan Klein