Left-Handed Girl
When Shu-Fen (Janel Tsai) moves from the country to Taipei to open a noodle stand in a bustling night market, she also has to contend with the death of the man who abandoned her, his rebellious teenaged daughter I-Ann (Shih-Yuan Ma) and her younger daughter I-Jing (Nina Ye), who, when left with Shu-Fen's father, starts acting out because of what he said about her as a "Left-Handed Girl."
Laura's Review: B+
After co-directing her and Sean Baker's first film, 2004's "Take Out," then going on to produce his subsequent films through 2021's "Red Rocket," Shih-Ching Tsou returns to the director's chair and her home country for her second film, cowritten with her long time filmmaking friend, who also edited the film. Jumping off from that old superstition about the left hand being evil and a tool of the devil, something Tsou's own grandfather told her as a child, the filmmaker has found her perfect five year-old counterpart in Nina Ye, the adorably precocious center of a multi-family and multi-generational tale.
After encountering an apartment much more cramped than they'd anticipated, I-Jing is thrilled to be served instant noodles, expressing a desire to eat them more often, but I-Ann cannot resist teasing the little girl with the story of a man in Japan who died after eating them every day for a year, but no one could tell he was dead because of all the preservatives he'd consumed. With that, a huge clump of noodles falls out of I-Jing's mouth back into her bowl with perfect comic timing and we know we're in the hands of a charming natural.
While mom works at setting up her stall, I-Jing delights in the wonders of the market, quickly integrating herself with the familial web of retailers, especially Johnny (Brando Huang), who hoists the young girl up and hands her a mike to tout his cheap gadgets. She'll be driven about Taipei on I-Ann's moped, the two joyful, but when we leave I-Jing to witness I-Ann's life, things take a darker turn. I-Ann not only works at Ah-Ming's (Teng-Hung Hsia) betel nut kiosk, but has a sexual relationship with him and when she arrives at work one day, she discovers he's hired the younger, pretty Xiao-hong (Blaire Chang). Things will get a lot more complicated, as they will for Fu-Shen when she receives a phone call telling her that her ex is in the hospital and I-Ann excoriates her for visiting, let alone, helping him. Fu-Shen will anyway, taking on massive debt for his funeral when he passes (while I-Jing adopts his pet meerkat), enraging market stall landlord Mr. Yang when she's late with the rent. Johnny, who is sweet on her, tries to help, but she rejects his offer of money, instead turning to her mother, who travels to the U.S. twice a month as part of some kind of trafficking ring, much to the resentment of her more well off sisters.
There are a lot of secrets being kept between mothers and daughters of multiple generations here and once I-Jing becomes convinced her grandfather was right when she throws a ball with her left hand which GooGoo the meerkat chases after to disastrous results, she begins to shoplift, but she will send her grandmother into a panic when she lifts a package containing passports and airline tickets to pawn in order to help her mother. Ironically, she'll also become the apple of her grandmother's eye when everything is returned, but another bombshell will land at grandmother's 60th birthday party.
Cinematographers Ko-Chin Chen and Tzu-Hao Kao fluidly follow these women, especially little Nina Ye, about the brightly lit city, the night market popping with candy colored light, which Tsou references in her kaleidoscope-backed credits. Baker cuts scenes of the little girl bouncing about the market to the rhythmic Chinese percussion on the soundtrack. And when all is said and done, one extended family may have erupted, but the one connected by market stalls is truly home. The ensemble clicks, but Nina Ye will be the one to steal your heart. "Left-Handed Girl", Taiwan's submission for the 2026 International Oscar, is both a complex family drama and delightful comedy, Tsou deftly switching tone throughout.
Robin's Review: A-
Long-time producer for Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou, takes the helm as solo director with a story she and Baker cowrote. At first, all we know is that Shu-Fen and her girls are returning to Taipei to start a new life. But, it is a hard struggle and mom is in debt over her head, always in arrears for the rent and threatened with eviction.
Teen I-Ann (Shih-Yuan Ma) is none too happy with their struggle, especially knowing that mom has been paying hospital bills for the man who abandoned them years before. She rebels and refuses to work in the shop, knowing that she can make more money than her mother. Things do not turn out as easy as she expected.
Little I-Jing (Nina Ye) is the titular character and this comes in to play when they visit grandma and grandpa. The grandfather is appalled when, while eating, he sees I-Jing using her left hand. It is the “devil’s hand” and he demands that she use her right hand instead. This “stigma” becomes very important to the little girl – and leads to a life of crime.
The charming little slice of life puts us in the middle of this tiny family as they do their best to get through the pitfalls of their existence. We see their life through each set of eyes, mom’s and daughters’, and get involved. That is a pretty good thing for a movie to do – invest you in the lives of the characters.
There is not one moment, while watching “Left-Handed Girl,” that felt false. The trials mom faces are onerous and she is forced to ask her family for money, much to the resentment of her sisters who view this as taking away their money. I-Ann faces her own problems. Once a straight-A student, family circumstance keep her from getting a higher education. Her resentment is palpable and, later, when more information comes out, is quite justified.
The star, to me, in the film is little I-Jing. She is a little charmer as she wanders the market free and doing kid stuff. Her descent into a life of crime is amusing and kept me wondering about just desserts. Part of the fun is just watching the little girl as she wanders her own turf and touches all the adults around her – except for grandpa.
Netflix releases "Left-Handed Girl" in select theaters on 11/14/25. It begins streaming on 11/28/25.
