Mistress Dispeller Review (Glasgow Film Festival 2025)

Trust is the foundation of any relationship, especially romantic ones. We build it through loyalty, , and unconditional love. But when any of these aspects are compromised, cracks begin to form, and the trust we once had can eventually shatter. So, if you happened to notice messages on your partner’s phone from someone you didn’t recognize—messages that seemed overly familiar—would you assume it was an innocent relationship? For Mrs. Li, the answer is no. Convinced that her husband is having an affair, she turns to an unconventional solution. Mistress Dispeller offers a fascinating look at relationships and the growing industry in China dedicated to salvaging broken marriages.

Teacher Wang Zhenx is a “Mistress Dispeller”—a specialist hired by the betrayed partner to go undercover and, by any means necessary, break up the extramarital affair and restore the marriage. Throughout the documentary, we witness the lengths to which Teacher Wang is willing to go to achieve this goal. The film’s greatest strength lies in what it captures on camera—I still can’t believe they managed to get Mr. Li to it his affair on film, ultimately leading us to follow the mistress, Fei Fei.

One car ride between Mr. Li and Fei Fei left me wondering—what exactly did the filmmakers say to the participants to get this footage? At the start of the film, a disclaimer states that no scenes were recreated and that all participants agreed to take part both at the beginning and the end of production. This raises an intriguing parallel to the Mistress Dispeller concept itself—the filmmakers, much like the Mistress Dispeller, were seemingly willing to do whatever it took to capture the footage they needed.

When Fei Fei is introduced, the documentary shifts focus, humanizing the mistress. Fei Fei is simply someone searching for connection, for love. Is it really her fault that the person who finally gave her what she craved was already married? We don’t choose who we form connections with, and it’s fascinating to see this explored from a perspective rarely given attention. Too often in films, the mistress is vilified and reduced to the role of a homewrecker. Mistress Dispeller acknowledges that those feelings of betrayal are valid, but it also delves deeper, revealing the emotional complexities beneath the surface—reminding us that the mistress, too, experiences pain, just as the cheated-on partner does.

Teacher Wang is a fascinating figure in this documentary, as we witness the lengths she is willing to go to in order to get close to her targets. What begins as a simple bton lesson gradually escalates into private conversations with Fei Fei about the affair. It all builds to a final encounter that I never saw coming—one that is truly compelling—leading to a satisfying conclusion for both Mrs. Li and Fei Fei’s journey.

Mistress Dispeller is a captivating documentary that offers a unique perspective on affairs and their impact on everyone involved. While documentaries aren’t usually my cup of tea, I found myself thoroughly engaged with this film, even as I couldn’t help but question how they managed to capture such intimate footage.