Long time Sean Baker collaborator Shih Ching Tsou makes her solo directorial debut with Left-Handed Girl a delightfully sweet and sincere drama about the sacrifices we make for those closest to us. Nina Yeh plays the eponymous left-handed girl I Jing, whose family returns to Taipei in order to start a Night Market noodle stall.
Shot largely using an iPhone, Tsou’s Baker influences bleed through the film’s pores. While it centres around I-Jing, it’s the relationship between mother Shu-Fen (Janel Tsai) and I-Ann (Ma Shih-Yuan), her rebellious daughter, that is the heart of the film. Ma is brilliant as I-Ann, equal parts irreverent, feisty and painfully sad. As I-Ann drifts through her life, having given up promising educational opportunities for mysterious reasons, we’re left to consider simply why this is the case.
Part of why stems from the persnickety nature of the extended family. They despise that Shu Fen has returned home to take care of the affairs for her late ex-husband and accrued debts in the process. For them, the key is saving face, something impossibly hard to do considering Shu Fen’s financial struggles. Facing opposition at all sides – both external and internal – the family must stick together, as they’re the only ones who will look out for each other.
This is one of the films at TIFF that I know most people will ultimately be able to see at some point soon. I highly recommend that you do when the film drops on Netflix in late November.
- Rated: 15
- Genre: Drama, First Feature, Women's Cinema, World Cinema
- Directed by: Shih-Ching Tsou
- Starring: Akio Chen, Alvin Lin, Blaire Chang, Brando Huang, Hsia Teng Hung, Janel Tsai, Ma Shih-yuan, Nina Yeh, Yen-Ju Chen
- Produced by: Alice Labadie, Jean Labadie, Mike Goodridge, Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou
- Written by: Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou
- Studio: Cinema Inutile, Filmic, Good Chaos, Le Pacte, Left-Handed Girl Film Productions, LHG Films, Through The Lens Entertainment
