Left-Handed Girl

Warm hearted movie that leaves you wanting more

Before all, I have to comment on the ending cause it deserves it's own applause !! The whole room went silent when the revelation was made. Even an old woman in front of me just shouted from the shock as it was sooo unexpected !
The storytelling is beautifully made. Even so that it truthfully depicts complex characters in a complex world where asian traditions and modern habits tend to confront everyday in our society. The relationship between the characters seem quite usual at first nothing out of the ordinary with a conflicted relationship btw a mother who seems to have lost all of her marks and her first daugther + a typical sister relationship.
But once you know how it ends, every little scenes take suddenly more importance !! That's when you realize how smart the storytelling was !
It's a 10 out 10 experience that you have to truly live and feel and will surely make you want to rewatch it again and again !

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" A married daughter is like water that's poured out"

Director Tsou Shih Ching created a chaotic yet charming film using an iPhone and some of her own memories. Three generations of women working to support their families reveal archaic beliefs about gender and superstitions about left-handedness.

Cheng Shu Fen with her daughters I Ann and I Jing move from the countryside to Taipei where Shu Fen sets up a noodle shop stall in the busy night market. Their apartment is crowded and the market noisy. While Shu Fen works the noodle shop, high school dropout I Ann chooses employment at a betel nut and smoke stand. I Jing goes to grade school and helps her mom afterwards, making friends throughout the market. When Shu Fen becomes saddled with debt connected to her ex-husband, her business hangs in the balance. Born without a Y chromosome, her family refuses to lend her money as they would have if she had been a son. Shu Fen’s father refuses to let I Jing use her left hand around him saying it is evil and the Devil’s hand. The old superstition leads to some curious consequences. I Ann begins a relationship that leads to its own consequences.

At the beginning it was difficult to tell if the little family actually cared about each other. Much of the film was shown through I Jing’s innocent eyes or I Ann’s jaded ones. Young Nina Yeh as I Jing gave a wonderful performance for one so young. I Jing struggled with her grandfather’s order to comply and conform to his societal view on left-handedness. She was the sunshine in the dark alley of their lives. Ma Shih Yuan’s I Ann was a tough nut to crack, always cloaked in a hard shell. Yet there were scenes where her vulnerability broke through revealing the caring, loyal young woman beneath. Ever exhausted physically and emotionally, Janel Tsai showed how Shu Fen had her own unmet needs. Each of the three longed for acceptance, affection, and attention, never daring to speak their inner desires. All three exhibited tenacity and independence often clandestinely supporting each other. One of the more touching and relatable scenes in the film took place with I Ann and I Jing traversing the market lacking any words of affection but overflowing with poignant emotions.

Left-Handed Girl followed Shu Fen and her family as they faced opportunities and set-backs in the chaotic, busy streets of the night market. Starting over is never easy when gender obligations and limits rear their ugly heads. All told, four generations of women had their own secrets that culminated in a catharsis that led to the truth, forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation. Everything you could want from a spunky family drama of women looking for a better life.

2 December 2025
Trigger warnings: Smoking. Sexual content. Brief nudity.

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