Left-Handed Girl
When Sean Baker is involved, one should expect an honest story, unapologetically grounded in reality. A reality that is often harsh, yet still worth striving for. Left-Handed Girl fully embraces this ethos and does not stray from that path.
The film follows a single-parent family that relocates to Taipei in search of a brighter future. Shu-Fen, together with her two daughters, the innocent five-year-old I-Jing and the gruff, college-aged I-Ann, moves to the capital, where Shu-Fen opens a noodle stand at a night market. Through the eyes of the sweet and understandably naive I-Jing, we are drawn into a world where carelessness, outdated cultural superstitions, and social stigma collide. Being left-handed, I-Jing is taught that her “condition” is a curse, one that supposedly drives her toward “bad” actions, which she then rationalises through the idea of a devil’s hand. Meanwhile, I-Ann finds herself trapped in a series of poor decisions that only fully surface at the film’s crescendo. It is best to stop here to avoid spoiling the experience.
Shot on an iPhone, a technique Baker previously employed in Tangerine (2015), the film’s cinematography further enhances the sense of immediacy and realism that defines his body of work. In her directorial debut, Shih-Ching Tsou, clearly influenced by her long-standing collaboration with Baker and his artistic outlook, introduces herself triumphantly with a tender and truthful portrayal of a dysfunctional family that, despite persistent hardship, continues to move forward. The actors deliver understated and deeply affecting performances, capturing everyday struggles with remarkable subtlety and without any theatrical excess.
Left-Handed Girl is ultimately a universal story that happens all around us, one that transcends borders and cultural specificities. In Taiwan, it may be a left-handed child shaped by superstition; elsewhere, it is something different, yet equally rooted in collective anxieties and unconscious beliefs.
Undoubtedly, this is a film well worth your time, rewarding viewers with an original narrative, inventive cinematography and camera work, and consistently strong performances.
