Reviews

Through the streets of Taipei

Following around the streets of Taipei, Left Handed Girl follows a mother and her 2 daughters who just newly moved to the city.

Technically, the movie is well directed, letting the audience view through the streets of Taipei through the character's POV. A vlog style direction is handled well by the newcomer Shih Ching Tsou through iPhone.

While the narrative is shaky at times, the characters are well written and shows their individual struggle to make through every day. Three generations of women working to support their families reveal archaic beliefs about gender and superstitions about left-handedness.

The biggest highlight of the movie was Nina Ye playing a 5 year old kid, seeing her family struggle through various situations and her own dilemma of being left-handed. There was pure innocence in her performance that really made me stick to the movie till the end.

Narratively, the focus was not constant. The pacing was uneven, the characters especially Shih-Hua-Ma could have been written better.

My Rating : 3.5/5

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A Soft Romance That Finds Beauty in the Everyday

Evergreen Love is a film that understands its own quiet power — it doesn’t aim for epic drama or cinematic fireworks. Instead, it builds its romance from the humblest of materials: shared meals, ordinary routines, and the small shifts that happen when two lonely people slowly let their guard down and learn what companionship feels like in its most ordinary form.

Sayaka begins the film caught in a loop: a humdrum office job, convenience-store lunches, lonely nights. She’s polite but invisible — the kind of person who drifts through life rather than living it. When she stumbles upon Itsuki collapsed outside her apartment and brings him in, what follows isn’t a sweeping love story but a gradual shift in her world.

The change in Sayaka is subtle but meaningful. Itsuki doesn’t transform her — he gently wakes her up. She starts noticing things, questioning the rut she’s been stuck in, choosing instead of simply accepting. She becomes braver in small, essential ways: standing up for herself, trying new things, and reconsidering what she truly wants from her life.

Itsuki never sweeps her off her feet; instead, he naturally invites her to see the world differently — through herbs, home-cooked meals, quiet mornings, and the small beauties she used to rush past. His presence brings warmth, but the film never idolizes him. He’s mysterious and a little unanchored, yet honest.

The way the film threads botany, cooking, and simple domestic rituals into their growing connection gives the romance richness through simplicity. The wild plants they gather, the dinners they share — these moments become gentle markers of rediscovery. You don’t just watch them fall in love; you watch one of them learn to taste life again, and the other — quietly — learn what it means to belong. That grounding in everyday detail gives the film sincerity.

Some plot points do require a slight suspension of disbelief. Certain aspects of their cohabitation and the mid-point separation feel idealized. But for me, it fits the film’s soft aesthetic and the quiet, fairy-tale-adjacent tone it’s aiming for. What matters most is this: this film isn’t built for fans of big twists or high-stakes drama. It doesn’t chase intensity or tragedy. If you’re open to a romance without chaos, without villains, without emotional theatrics — just a story that shows the ordinary healing that comes from being truly seen — then this film is quietly gorgeous.

Evergreen Love is ultimately a portrait of two people meeting at exactly the right moment and nudging each other gently back toward themselves. It’s modest, warm, soft, and simple yet insightful. A lovely film.

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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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Nice movie

I like it.
I decided to watch it from the funny scenes I saw online.
A man who turned out to be a woman to advance his career.
I like. Not bad.
If you think about reality... I believe the ending definitely demonstrated that.
By law. He deserves that. But of course. He also saved people.
Regardless. I like this movie. I like how Jo Jung Suk is the main lead hahaha he's so FUNNY 💀🤣🤣🤣

WOULD DEF RECOMMEND IF you feel like watching an easy comedy movie.
I also love his sister's character, HAHAHA, and the mother. GIRL. I RELATE.LOL.
235PM 12525

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Not your usual zombie movie

but this shouldn’t deter anyone from watching it. It’s true that the focus of this movie is a lot more on the family and their relationships and how the situation affects those than the focus is on the zombies. The tension is felt rather than just seen and it’s a key point of what makes the movie so good. It’s the type of movie that might not seem grandiose but that’s cause it doesn’t need to be. Everything that happens very much shows the different sides of humanity and the cracks that show under such a crisis. I would definitely recommend anyone who wants to, to give it a fair chance. It might just surprise you as much as it did me.

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Best nostalgic remedy

Whenever I'm depressed or feeling the blues I go back to old Asian movies specifically Japanese BLs, because some of them are done very well even better some nowadays ones, and considering the era they are well made and acted, so I kinda travel back in time when I watch them and satisfy this nostalgic craving, this movie checks all the boxes.

It's so beautiful, calm and healing.
Story is really simple and easy to follow, the vibes are relaxing and the end is just lovely, the cast are all great and their act and chemistry is ok considering this is 2014 movie, you can't ask for more.

Just I have nothing to say, if you love BL just watch it, it worths every minute ~

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Love the cast but the plot is just meh

I bet Kang Dong Won chose this movie for the fight scenes, because the plot is totally bull***t. My 2 stars out of 10 go to the cast and the first iconic 20 minutes of the movie.

The iconic umbrella scene was the only enjoyable moment in the whole movie. That’s also how I got tricked into thinking it would be a romantic movie with maybe a messy love triangle, as this is an old movie from the 2000s. But this movie was not just bad. Even though I love Kang Dong Won and Lee Chung Ah very much and that’s why I watched this movie in the first place, I couldn’t really enjoy any of their acting because the whole plot is just gross. None of the characters is likable. There’s no chemistry between the romantic couple, and the man she ended up with is a total jerk, and I have no words for the other man.

OMG. 🫠

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A Powerful and Respectful Homage to Ruan Lingyu

This film was close to being perfect. Stanley Kwan shows the amount of respect he has for Ruan and her contribution to Chinese cinema in this film by creating a biopic/documentary hybrid. Additionally, with Maggie Cheung playing Ruan so beautifully, it seemed like a match made in heaven. The cinematography is dark and morose, framing not just Ruan's inner struggles, but also the terrible time period she lived in. The music was also stunning. While it certainly was a riveting film, there is one major issue that kept it from being a 'cult classic'.

The film's glaring flaw is that it tries to do everything, thereby ensuring that it isn't 'great' at anything. While I appreciate the mix of documentary and biopic, it can be really jarring and confusing at times. Especially at the end where Ruan commits suicide, it almost seems like there was a blooper accidentally left in the movie, because Maggie Cheung is supposed to be 'dead', but she suddenly breaks character, and the film crew starts laughing. I found that to be incredibly bizarre; this is one of the saddest biopics I've ever watched, and yet, the seriousness of it is sucked out of the room with weird moments like this. I don't think it was intentional, I just think that Stanley Kwan made some very poor choices. I heard rumors that when the film was first presented, apparently it was shown out of order and that it was a bit of a mess. There's a reason Stanley Kwan is not talked about as much as someone like Wong Kar Wai, and the choices made in this film prove that sentiment.

The film's length has much to be desired as well, due to the whole issue of combining biopic and documentary. My biggest issue with this format is that I feel I was being told what to feel and know, rather than letting the film explain itself. The documentary portion would have been great as an extra; but, to add it to the film in this manner just doesn't make sense. It completely breaks the flow. This also made the narrative confusing at times, and it took me a good hour or so to finally figure out who's who, as you're not given enough context clues to memorable moments to remember names/characters. Information is just thrown at you. I do not know how much of Ruan's films are left, but I would have appreciated the complete removal of the documentary and replace them with the brilliant cuts from Maggie's acting to Ruan's silent films. Those parts made me tear up, especially at the end when Maggie's crying leads into the actual 'New Woman' film that was considered Ruan's penultimate. Also, from what I've heard, not much is known about Ruan's personal life prior to her joining the Lianhua Film Company, so I do appreciate that Stanley Kwan didn't add anything to the narrative for drama's sake. He kept things to the facts and allowed subjects that are mysteries remain mysteries.

The one thing I will give Stanley Kwan a lot of credit for is how he handled the suicide scene. There are no frills or melodrama. It's really sad, because Ruan at the end is happy, and kisses all the actors and producers at the end of the film, seeming like she's over the scandal that plagued her last days. In reality, much like how many suicide victims are, they will be quite happy during the last few days of their lives, because they've made the decision to remove themselves from this earth. It's not that they're actually happy; they're at peace with themselves finally, knowing that they made a decision to end their live and put an end to their suffering and their 'burden' on others. Kwan handled this immensely tragic scene with such class that I think it's one of cinema's most brilliant moments. It's respectful to the subject-matter while also allowing you to feel the devastation of her decision.

Another aspect I loved about this film was how it portrayed the difference between people who like to preach change versus those who put thought into action. Ruan's private life spills into the public newspapers due to her deadbeat ex-husband putting a megaphone on their divorce, and it's ironic because she is the archetype of the modern 'independent' woman that all the feminists in the film were allegedly fighting for. She stands up to her deadbeat husband, gets a divorce, and gets into a relationship with a man who buys her a new house, promises to take care of her adopted kid, and support her mother. She stands up for herself against a patriarchy in a way that is quite revolutionary for her time, especially for an actress and public figure like herself. Her penultimate film, 'New Woman' was a middle finger to the establishment press and norms of society at that time. Yet, when Ruan had her scandal, no one who purported to support those ideals stood up for her. They stood in the shadows and remained silent, not offering one word of support or comfort for her. They let her get to such a point that she wanted to commit suicide and then have the audacity to show up to her funeral and cry for her. It's disgusting. That part stung the most, as we still see the same cowardice today.

All-in-all, I really enjoyed learning a little more about one of China's most important silent-film-era actresses. While it wasn't a homerun because of bizarre decisions regarding the documentary-portion of the film disrupting the narrative, it still struck an emotional chord in me that I still think about this film a lot. Again, Stanley Kwan kept it professional, and while his efforts were misguided, I can honestly say that he handled this subject with the care and attention it deserved.

Last thing: it's quite hard to emphasize how good Maggie's acting is in this film.

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STORY:
I finished this movie back in early ’22 and I haven’t been able to let it go since. Only reason I’m writing a review now, and not earlier, I guess is due to how impossibly raw it renders me and to be able to give my honest words I needed to revision it. A task easier said than done.
(I’ll be skipping certain parts and mainly focus on Naomi and Maki and their relationship.)

Wherever I read about this movie and peoples thoughts, it’s the same: ”How could Naomi”, ”The ending didn’t make sense”, ”I don’t understand what happened in the last 1/3” - that’s okey. It’s okey to not be able to grasp, or understand, why the movie went as it did. One factor might be that people come here expecting a ”BL” - I fear this is less of that, and more of a queer movie. Going in believing you’ll get the same turns as you’d normally get, this movie will be straight up disappointing.
No kissing, no on-the-nose confessions, no magically happy ending. It’s raw and honest and a story that, at least myself, have seen played out around me when someone closeted faces a part of themselves that they have never touched before.

To have it said - Naomi treated Maki awfully. Middle to end his own uncertainties, fears and insecurities bleed into what was (and had) formed between the two, finding violent, wordless means to express a want and need he didn’t know the language to.
Maki, on the contrary, knows himself. He knows that, the love and closeness he wants, isn’t conventional or easy to find. The pool scene where he expresses that he feels this force field around him, driving people away, was such a powerful way to open up to soemone he’s evidently grown to like without putting himself on blast would Naomi in fact NOT understand or take it well. In doing so did he also (unknowingly) give Naomi words that Naomi himself understood, finding himself able to confess that he, too, feel the same. For the story, this moment is huge.

Nothing has really ever made me feel the same way their "playfights ” did, even now years later. It’s straight up beautiful storytelling and it’s so sad, sadder than I think some people realise. Both that, for Naomi to know how to even begin to show physical affection, he had to resort to punches, is in and out of itself heartbreaking.
It speaks about how he’s been raised.
It shows how lack of understanding results in violence, fueled by enaourmous feelings needing an outlet, and also a hint to that - despite him having had a girlfriend - the feelings and needs aren’t the same. What he feels towards Maki is larger and burning, it’s scary and new and something he shouldn’t want, while what he felt for Kaho most certainly was affection, but not love and want in the same way: gentler, expected, socially accepted and without any risks. And so, he punches.
And for Maki, who takes it and plays into it - wants it just as bad - a sign that parts of him will allow anything as long as he isn’t just drifting alone anymore. If this is the way to get to hold and feel Naomi, then he’ll do it. To quote ”The perks of being a wallflower”: We accept the love we think we deserve. At the start, I fear he was terrified that this would blow over, to watch Naomi slip away again, that he hurled himslef into it all the same.

The real sorrow begins when Naomi can’t move past it, can’t allow it to grow into something gentler, while Maki starts to ask for that exact thing, no reassured that Naomi does feel the same as he does. ”But why can’t he?” Fear. He’s scared. Scared and confused and stuck between holding onto the version of himself who, while not perfect, is familiar and the version of himself he has no outlines for. How will his father react if he finds out? How will the town they live in? Can they stay? Is the only answer to hide what they have? What if Maki leaves, then what? Would it even be safe? So many things, but because he has no tools to voice his feelings, him and Maki never talk. Not really.
The closest he gets is when he admits he doesn’t understand.
And so the cycle continous and spiral, and he yet again resort to violent means by robbing in an attempt to get them abroad. This part especially, was what truly cemented that their story wouldn’t continue, no matter what happened. Because Maki is ready to wait, while to Naomi, if they don’t leave, he’ll never be able to give them a chance. I can’t say for certain, but I believe Naomi saw this as the one opportunity to try be with Maki. His one surge of bravery, knowing that if they stayed then he’d never dare again. And he doesn’t. He goes to jail, and he never leaves.

As for the ending, without spoiling too much, do I think it not only made sense but was an incredibly hard watch for all the right reasons. This is a story about discovering (and falling in) love, surrounded by an everyday that is both placid and hostile - not a love story. I couldn’t ever praise this piece enough.

ACTING/CASTING:
The casting of every character was brilliant. Even skill levels, excellent performances, a natural and realistic momentum to every scene and line delivered. Shuri (Maki) and Shion (Naomi) were incredible together, bouncing off of one another in outstanding ways and delivered a story that so easily can go on feeling tired, cringy and even boring.

MUSIC:
I love the soundtrack in this movie, it has such significant impact to the scenes and elevates them in that way only a good pick can. Giving it a 9 rather than 10 solely for the reason that I haven’t felt a need to find any of the pieces used afterwards.

REWATCH VALUE:
It’s a rough watch, because it doesn’t hodl your hand at any point, but it is most definetly worth seeing more than once.


FINAL THOUGHTS:
I’ve loved few movies the way I love "Let me hear it barefoot”. It’s a masterpiece that deserves to extend beyond japanese bl and when people speak of good queer movies, this one should be among the titles. I spoke very little of anything besides their relationship, which is shame on me, but teh side characters are all fleshed out and dynamic, their own little stories and lives feel so genuine and mapped out and help moving the story forward. It’s never stagnant and does the organic buildup so well.

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