"Early on in Shih-Ching Tsou's Left-Handed Girl, one of its protagonists, an adorable Taiwanese girl named I-Jing (Nina Ye), is told by her grandpa that her left-handedness is a curse. "Don't use left-hand in my house," he says to her, yanking a crayon from her left hand into her right and sending a bolt of fear through the impressionable 5-year-old. "Left hand is evil," he scolds. "It belongs to the devil.""
"In Tsou's charming solo directorial debut, I-Jing, her teenage sister and their mother have just moved back to Taipei after years away in the countryside. Their mother Shu-Fen (Janel Tsai), opens a noodle stand in the capital's famous night markets in an attempt to start a new life for her family. But a fresh start is rarely an easy one."
A young left-handed Taiwanese girl, I-Jing, endures familial superstition after her grandfather forces her to use her right hand and calls the left hand evil. I-Jing internalizes the shame and struggles with a weaker hand that limits her confidence. Her mother, Shu-Fen, returns to Taipei with I-Jing and an older daughter to run a noodle stall in a busy night market while managing debts from an ex-husband's funeral. The older sister, I-Ann, carries teenage anger and determination to support the family. The story balances intimacy and playfulness while centering marginalized characters and showing daily economic and emotional pressures.
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