As any left-landed person knows, the pressure to write with your right hand as a child to ‘fit’ into a society catered for right-handed people is immense. Netflix’s Left-Handed Girl is a truly delightful, coming-of-age tale from filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou, and co-written by Oscar-winning Anora writer-director Sean Baker, that adds Chinese superstition of ‘left’ meaning ‘improper’, ‘unlucky’, or even ‘evil’, as we follow the fortunes of young, left-hander I-Jing, wonderfully portrayed by nine year-old Taiwanese star Nina Ye, as she moves to Taipei with her mother and older sister.
Young mother of two Shu-Fen (Janel Tsai) relocates back to the Taiwanese capital city after a failed relationship and in search of a better life for her two daughters, I-Jing and I-Ann, a smart, opinionated and stubborn young woman (Shih-Yuan Ma). After setting herself up with a noodle stall at the local night market, a weary Shu-Fen tries to carve out a living after deducting the extortionate business rates while navigating the pressures of raising two daughters of differing ages and keeping up some resemblance of family unity.
Money is tight, and young, confident I-Jing, who draws pictures in her spare time, fears the family’s growing misfortunes are down to her being left-handed, after her grandfather demands she stops using this hand to write and eat with. She also tries her hand at shoplifting, believing with wide-eye innocence that it is her fate as her left hand dictates. A tragic accident and the exposure of some illegal business involving her grandmother causes a change of heart and a re-evaluation of their situation, ending with some secret family truths revealed before any healing process the unit can begin.
Seen through her wide eyes, the eager and energetic camera follows I-Jing at eye level through the market as she independently navigates her new urban world on the lively, neon-lit streets, charming adults with her wise and questioning disposition. This bright little soul breathes hope and curiosity into an otherwise bleak and mundane existence that both her mother and sister are trying to rise above. Ye carries many of the scenes alone, commanding a huge and impressive presence for such a young actor. It is her tale to tell really, as the adult actors make entrances at key moments during her journey of self discovery and growing up fast. Experiencing life in a big city through her vision is both thrilling and unsettling, but her sense of belonging and loyalty to her small family unit beats at the heart of this film.
Left-Handed Girl provides a fascinating window on Taiwanese life too, with the traditional expectations of females coming into blunt force with the needs and pulls of modern-day life and survival. The trio can overcome all obstacles it seems, even as straight A student I-Ann is reminded of what she has lost when an old school friend invites her to a party, and Shu-Fen suffers the wrath of her more successful and established, but catty sisters who vie for attention from their unscrupulous and narcissistic mother. The age-old trope of love conquering all in times of hardship certainly triumphs again here, with a family finale that will have both the party attendees and the audience gasping in horror.
Shih-Ching Tsou’s Left-Handed Girl is a courageous, life-affirming tale of familial sisterhood, with bonds stretched and compromised that are later reshaped in stronger ways, that soothes the soul while highly entertains along the way. Thanks to the main trio’s acting prowess, this was one of LFF 2025’s true pleasures from The Florida Project producers Tsou and Baker that proves the former’s directing flair should definitely be explored further in any future collaborations.
