Left-Handed Girl is the first solo feature from director and co-writer Shih-Chin Tsou, who has mostly been a producer. This time, she is joined by Sean Baker, whom she has produced several films for, and who shares producing and writing duties as well as acting as editor. Yet, for all the Baker dna in this film, it is uniquely its own thing. The story of a mother and her two daughters moving back to Taipei to start over, the film could have been bleak. Yet, what we get is joyous, real and clear eyed. There is pain, and sorrow but there is also love and tenderness. We also get a rare, terrific child turn, by Nina-Ye as I-Jing, the title character.
This is a film about new beginnings and overcoming the past, particularly when the culture you live in holds you firmly to what has gone before. What new challenges arise when where you were might determine where you are allowed to go? This is a film very aware of the cultural mores of its setting, and in particular, gender and age roles. We meet three generations of the family, as our story begins, and each one brings something different to what we discover.
While this is a drama, it is not without levity, though not in terms of jokes. Instead, it is most often moments of quiet beauty or real connection, bonds that we see are stronger than we suspected. It is a film with quite a bit of catharsis, and while it is a film that could have spent a little more time on one thread, that is not enough to bring it down more than a bit.
Courtesy Netflix
We see our main character, I-Ann, the older sister, as she tries to navigate her way through the world. Her mother is beholden to ideas of honor and gratitude, even when those actions keep bringing her family low, and forcing them to repeatedly start over. She herself may work, but we get a sense she could have been something different, as she was a top student in high school before having to leave. She now works in a shop, dressed in skimpy outfits and carrying on a sexual relationship with her boss. She has anger and conflicts, within and without, and Shih-Yuan Ma plays them with delicacy and raw reality.
As I-Jing, Nina-Ye is a light at the center of much darkness, yet even here the child is clouded by misdirection. A lefty, she is told by an elder that it is evil to use that hand, and anything done with it, is because of the devil. So, she begins committing small crimes. We see the innocence and wonder of a child mix with the determination to fit in, as well as a disconnect from herself and her body, even if it is only imagined.
Courtesy Netflix
Set in amongst the houses and night markets of Taipei, the film is beautifully shot and expertly edited for maximum character emphasis. This is a film that knows how to use space and place in order to pull us into these lives, and which is wise enough to make those lives interesting, so we do not lose interest. These are flawed individuals, yet all too real. There is a cultural specificity here that is also universal.
Ultimately, this is a fine examination of familial and social patterns, and a critique of both. The writing is sharp, the direction poetic and clear, the editing precise and focused. There is not a bad performance or boring character to be found. This is surely one of the year’s most pleasant surprises.
Left-Handed Girl is now streaming on Netflix
This sounds like it has a lot of potential