A Garota Canhota

A 5-year-old girl, her university-aged sister, and their single mother move back from the countryside to Taipei, where the mother opens a noodle stall in a night market.

The youngest goes to school, is somewhat taken care of by the 2 family members, at time tries to help, but also at times is left to amuse herself. She wants a dog, but ends up inheriting her father's meerkat. Her left-handedness causes trouble with her grandfather, who calls the left hand "the devil's hand", something that leads to unintended results.

The older girl goes to work at an unrelated shop, and when she happens upon an old schoolmate, they wonder why she is not in university, given her previous grades, and why she suddenly left school without goodbyes.

The mother's finances are shaky, repeatedly being late with her shop's rent. Grandma is not too supportive, as (culturally) a married daughter is the responsibility of her husband's family. The owner / operator of the stall next to hers (who sells trinkets) takes a shine to her, but she refuses his help, preferring to pawn her jewelry to raise money.

Everything comes to a head at grandma's 60th birthday celebration, where various family secrets are revealed. I do wonder why they all have to be revealed at that time.

The actor playing the 5-year-old is very good, given that she has to play a wide range of emotions. The bustling shops of the market are an eye-opener, and it seems that motor scooters are a major form of transport. This becomes a fascinating glimpse of life in Taipei for ordinary people.

Left Handed Girl (2025) is a pleasant film with a gentle emotional tone and a visually appealing style. It delivers a soft, engaging atmosphere that makes it enjoyable to watch, and it has moments of genuine beauty both in its characters and its cinematography. However, despite its charm, the movie ultimately settles into very standard drama territory.

The story feels too familiar and doesn't take advantage of the themes it introduces. There are several places where the narrative could have gone deeper-whether in exploring the character's internal struggle, the relationships around her, or the broader message the film hints at. Because of this lack of development, many scenes feel lighter than they should, and the emotional impact remains limited.

Overall, Left Handed Girl is a nice, watchable film, but it clearly had the potential to be much stronger with a richer and more ambitious story.

Take Out meets The Florida Project in a Shih-Ching Tsou & Sean Baker collaboration that's full of lively real-life energy and saturated colours. Tsou and Baker co-write, with the former directing and the latter editing, and extract the sweetest (and cutest) performance from Nina Ye, playing a young kid named I-Jing who's told (by her orthodox grandpa) that using the left hand leads to the devil's work. Her mom Shu-Fen (an excellent Janel Tsai) runs a noodle stand in the bustling Taipei night market, while her sister I-Ann (Shih-Yuan Ma) is an angsty teenager who works as a 'betel nut beauty.' Another key character here is Johnny (Brando Huang), a hawker whose shop is adjacent to the noodle shop, and gradually grows to be a spirited presence in the womens' lives.

Films shot on the iPhone (Boyle's 28 Years Later, Soderbergh's Unsane, Baker's own Tangerine, and recently Neil Burger's Inheritance) have a unique aesthetic to them. A big chunk of the film revolves around I-Jing's little antics with the camera zooming in on her adorably expressive face, and coupled with Taipei's beautifully lived-in settings, the film is a sight to behold, even on smaller screens. The candid beauty of East Asian (and South East Asian, for that matter) countries is just absorbing as hell. The more you've travelled to these places, the more you can relate.

Drama keeps brewing in the household between the three ladies, with money, integrity, and even the family tree being called into question. All three get well-etched characters and arcs. The climactic culmination even brings an unexpected reveal, but life keeps moving. The writing treats ACCEPTANCE as a true virtue, and sometimes in life, that's exactly how it is. The scene where I-Jing and I-Ann go back together to return I-Jing's stolen goods is SO SWEET.. might be my favourite scene in a film all year.

For an indie project, entirely shot on iPhones, it surprisingly tackles a myriad of socially relevant topics, from age-old superstitions to entrenched patriarchal practices.

What I particularly like is how it gives each of the main characters their moments to shine, highlighting their individual struggles without prioritizing one over the others.

It beautifully illustrates that everyone has their own challenges, and we all cope in different ways; some could handle things quietly, while others need to let it all out.

It's not overly heavy on the emotions, but the makers' intentions come across clearly. Plus, the "iPhone" footage adds a unique touch of realism to the whole storytelling experience.

Oh, and watch out for the twist at the end; I was flabbergasted.

When I walked into the modern and comfortable southern Taiwan cinema, I knew nothing about this film until when the film started rolling and I saw Sean Baker's name in it. I have been a huge Baker fan for decades since his 'Take Out'. I've watched and enjoyed every one of his films. I somehow remembered Tsou's name in the credit in every one of Baker's films but it didn't click on me when I first noticed Left-Handed Girl. I was really delighted and enjoyed this wonderful Tsou/Baker co-production about Taiwan's ordinary people's lives and how their compassion for each other intertwined in the typical Tsou/Baker touches. This film reminded me of their earlier 'Prince of Broadway', 'Starlet', 'Tangerine', 'The Florida Project', 'Red Rocket' and lastly but not the least 'Anora'. I wish Left-Handed Girl many successes in the upcoming awards season and I look forward to seeing more of Tsou/Baker co-production in the future. If you like any of their previous films, don't miss out this touching yet often hilarious and wonderful film about contemporary Taiwan.