Match Made

On the one hand, the poverty of the Vietnamese peasants and, on the other, the dynamism of Asian capitalism. These two ingredients are at the root of a flourishing trade in Ho Chi Minh Ville: the marriage agencies. There, the rich Chinese from Singapore or Taiwan can buy a wife to match their needs. The agency takes everything in hand, from recruiting village girls through to the “auditions” in a hotel room, from the administrative formalities to the wedding ceremony, from compensation for the parents to the fresh young bride’s passport, from the medical certificate to the souvenir photos. (Yann Lardeau)