A single mother and her two daughters relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall, each navigating the challenges of adapting to their new environment while striving to maintain family unity.
‘Left-Handed Girl’ is the debut solo feature from Shih-Ching Tsou, and it has been selected (and shortlisted) as Taiwan’s entrant for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Oscars. Its narrative follows a young girl, I-Jing (Nina Ye), growing up with her mother and sister in Taiwan, where the family has recently moved to the capital Taipei and opened up a noodle stand at one of the many night markets. Seen primarily through I-Jing’s eyes, it follows her as she observes the tensions, routines and rules that shape her daily life, often without her fully understanding them.
Director Shih-Ching Tsou is a regular collaborator of American filmmaker and recent Oscar winner (for ‘Anora’) Sean Baker, and that influence can be felt in the naturalistic approach and attention to lived-in detail, though Tsou clearly has her own voice. One of the film’s greatest strengths is its child’s-eye view shooting style, which places us firmly alongside the young protagonist, allowing the adult world to feel slightly warped, mirroring how children absorb far more than they’re told.
Visually, the film does a wonderful job of capturing the vibrancy of Taiwan, particularly the energy of Taipei’s night markets, where colour, noise and movement create a constant atmospheric backdrop to the story. The family dynamics are quietly compelling, with the filmmakers hinting at secrets and troubled pasts without spelling them out, distinguishing itself by showing how the specifics of Taiwanese culture have created barriers to being open with one another.
As the title suggests, I-Jing is left-handed, which is something her elderly relatives believe brings bad luck, a belief that becomes a simple but effective way of exploring cultural differences and inherited attitudes. Just as I-Jing is curious and observant, so too is the film, as it subtly observes the people that inhabit this world and explores how their lives co-exist, and I thought ‘Left-Handed Girl’ was a charming and impressively made debut solo feature.
Rating: 4/5
Directed By: Shih-Ching Tsou
Starring: Janel Tsai, Shih-Yuan Ma, Nina Ye, Brando Huang, Akio Chen and Xin-Yan Chao
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