"Shot entirely with iPhones, debut solo director and co-writer Shih-Ching Tsou (the other co-writer is Tsou's frequent collaborator, Anora's Sean Baker) summons the frenetic energy and sensory experience of Taipei. There are bright red Chinese characters overtaking the glass windows of a pawn shop; the pleasant melody of trash-collecting trucks; the easy ping-pong of Mandarin and Taiwanese between generations; lush trees against grimy buildings that can nearly make you smell the specific essence of a bustling, wetter city."
"There are few things in a culture as ridiculous and potent as its superstitions. Left-Handed Girl's I-Jing, a sweet five-year-old who has just moved back to Taipei with her mom and older sister, gets literal firsthand experience when her grandpa admonishes her for using her left hand for everything it's not natural; it's the devil at work, he says. When I-Jing stares at her appendage with dismay, so begins a new relationship between her and her devil hand as she navigates city life."
Five-year-old I-Jing returns to Taipei with her mother and older sister and faces family pressure over her left-handedness, labeled the 'devil' by her grandfather. I-Jing develops a new relationship with her left hand and tests it by pocketing trinkets at night markets. The mother runs a night market noodle stand while the older sister works at a betel nut stall and navigates a volatile life. Shot entirely on iPhones, the movie captures Taipei's frenetic energy through street sounds, bilingual dialogue, neon pawn-shop characters, and the juxtaposition of lush trees and grimy buildings, creating a tender portrait of family and place.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]