Left-Handed Girl is the long-awaited solo feature directorial debut from Shih-Ching Tsou, who is best known for being a producer on Academy Award-winning Sean Baker’s films such as Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket. She has co-directed Take Out with Baker, but as mentioned, this is indeed her first time directing a movie on her own. It focuses on a single mother and her two daughters who move back to Taipei and run a noodle stall in the night market. As they go through struggles of debt, insecurity, and depression, they will hopefully embrace the true value of family and stick together. After screening at prestigious festivals like Cannes, TIFF, and Busan, it has recently celebrated its Quebec premiere at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma.
A triumphant solo directorial debut. Left-Handed Girl truly showcases Tsou as a wonderful storyteller who cares deeply about her characters and the world they’re in. While she has co-written the screenplay with Baker, it still first and foremost displays her presence as a masterful director with a clear vision in terms of narrative and cinematography. The cast is top-notch with Janel Tsai, Shih-Yuan Ma, and Nina Ye bringing some of the best performances in cinema this year. Their personalities shine throughout, and the emotional depth conveyed through these characters is deeply profound and relatable. That bond with one another easily makes Left-Handed Girl one of the most memorable and compelling stories about family and motherhood. However, the true standout is Ye as the titular five-year-old left-handed girl I-Jing, especially since it’s so compelling to see a child’s perspective in this location and setting.
Vibrant and kinetic Taiwanese cinema. Like Sean Baker’s Tangerine, Left-Handed Girl has also been shot with an iPhone. The visual look of Taipei is incredibly stunning, particularly the night market sequences. It’s impressive how they have managed to perfectly capture I-jing’s point of view through handheld camerawork, which makes the film feel raw, authentic, and heartfelt at times. Admittedly, you do notice the Baker style of filmmaking at times, but it doesn’t change the fact that Tsou still has her own voice when it comes to faithfully portraying the cinematic language of Taiwanese culture on the big screen.
Left-Handed Girl is a marvelous solo directorial debut for Shih-Ching Tsou, who has undoubtedly proven she’s ready to take on her own passion projects. I genuinely can’t wait to see what else she does next. She deserves all the praise she’s been getting lately. In time, the industry will fully acknowledge Tsou’s remarkable talent in both filmmaking and storytelling. As a sincere and honest narrative about family, motherhood, and tradition, there’s a lot to appreciate, and it is unquestionably one of the best films of the year.
Left-Handed Girl is showing now in select US theaters.
Streaming on Netflix November 28.