Modest, melancholic and strangely romantic, the new documentary from the director of 'Stray' paints a picture of China's flourishing 'love industry' through intimate character studies within a love triangle.

Some turn to couples therapy to save their marriages after a case of infidelity. Others hire a “mistress dispeller,” a wily professional who joins the duo (and the “other woman”) for a few months to break off the affair and mend the damaged bonds of domesticity. At least, that’s how it seems to be working in China lately, as the title cards in Elizabeth Lo’s elegantly spooky and strangely romantic “Mistress Dispeller” reveal.

A modestly experimental love story, a painful study of multiple characters, and a cultural portrait with an undertone of sadness. Lo's second documentary offers an intimate look at China's booming "love industry" of the past decade and the rising incidences of adultery – not through colorful statistical graphs or lengthy interviews with posh sociologists, but by sketching an authentic account of a mistress losing her mind.

If this all sounds juicy and luscious, you may want to adjust your expectations. What Lo has in store here is far more thoughtful than the stereotypical script of a racy love triangle. This is clear in the shots that frame this compassionate film: two women examining their own faces in different hairdresser mirrors. There is sorrow on the determined face of the first woman at the beginning, tears streaming softly down her cheeks. Stylishly dressed and with a modern, effortless pixie cut, she is Mrs. Li, married to a reserved man of few words. She knows that Mr. Li has cheated on her with the young Fei Fei, the aforementioned second wife in the other salon.