“Left-Handed Girl” Review
Director: Shih-Ching Tsou Screenwriter: Shih-Ching Tsou, Sean Baker Distributor: Netflix Running Time: 109 min. MPAA: R
Director Shih-Ching Tsou has spent enough time as a producer on Sean Baker’s films that she can hone in on the raw, relatable elements in Left-Handed Girl. As her first solo direction, the film is sure to garner easy comparisons to The Florida Project for focusing on a struggling mother and the perspective of a young daughter growing up under dire circumstances. Yet Shih-Ching Tsou manages to stir a drama all her own, one that finds more than the familiar heated exchanges and laces a surprising dash of hope into her script, a collaboration between Tsou and Baker.
Taking place in the crowded corners of Taipei, the struggling Shu-Fen (Janel Tsai) attempts to open her own street noodle shop while caring for her troublesome teenage daughter, I-Ann (Shih-Yuan Ma), and less troublesome kid, I-Jing (Nina Ye). Shu-Fen is hoping to succeed down the honest route of establishing her own business, but her rocky finances make it hard to keep that dream going. She can’t rely on her mother for help, funeral bills for her late husband have left a dent, and though the local vendor who fancies her is willing to cover her rent, she declines. She wants to set a good example for her immediate family that could use a better role model.
I-Jing receives the worst advice from her scrutinizing grandfather when he angrily tells her not to use her left hand, proclaiming that it is the devil’s hand. Misinterpreting this close-minded perspective, the young girl believes her demonically possessed dominant hand is the work of supernatural forces, providing a warped reasoning for her hand stealing or accidentally being responsible for the death of an animal. While I-Jing’s problem might be easy to dispel, I-Ann’s ordeal is a harder predicament, given her questionable choice in career paths and her romantic affairs destined to blow up in her face in more ways than one. And there’s a darker family secret regarding both I-Ann and I-Jing that threatens to explode at the worst possible time in their lives.
Per Baker’s down-and-dirty style, Tsou masterfully creates a depiction of Taipei so grounded in its corners of rusty walls and plastic merchandise that the environment becomes another character. Every day concerns crop up for this struggling family of three, ranging from the grief of dying family members they’d rather forget and the shame of being different for something as arbitrary as being left-handed. What’s most impressive is how close this family skates to the line of ending up on the street or in jail. An incredible amount of luck prevents them from being kicked out of their apartment for harboring a forbidden pet or being arrested for an association with illegal passports. Janel Tsai has an authoritative presence as she pushes back against all the opposing forces in her life, feeling more imposing amid the vibrant realism of Taipei’s busy street market. I rooted for her hard enough to preserve the innocence of I-Jing and the determination of I-Ann. The fact that she’s somewhat successful feels like a well-fought victory for all the chaos that ensues.
Left-Handed Girl presents an unorthodox, uniquely alive family and street drama that is so robustly rooted as to avoid any melodrama pitfalls. While Sean Baker’s films tend to fight hard for the realistic visions of squalor and turmoil amid loud encounters, Shih-Ching Tsou uses that same style to seek out a little more hope that never feels mushy. There’s a brilliance to how she juggles so many emotions in a location where it is easy to get lost in the crowd. The heart is always present, even in the many scenes of arguing about finances and family. The fact that Tsou can frame such an earnest depiction of Taipei’s wonder and woes, where stability feels like a miracle, is nothing short of brilliant filmmaking.
