Timing is everything has more than a little truth. I watch a lot of movies, maybe too many and a small percentage get a blog post from me. Not likely to increase their profits, but ones I especially don't want to forget.
Within two days two such films got my attention and seemed worthy of getting more attention. They are not related and I had other plans, but they are being bumped up.
" Left Handed Girl "(2025) was out one early day in December on Netflix and I found myself
engaged, but not really knowing why. One of the promo lines was the
family had secrets and before too long we could imagine what some might
be, but I for one was really caught off guard with the core secret revealed near the end. A mother, Shu-Fen and two daughters, I-Ann and I-Jin came to the big city of Taipei and set up a noodle vendor site at an all nite market. The left handed girl has an early reference to being left handed while eating. Her grandfather tried to scare her from using her left hand and told her it was the devil's hand. She was acutely aware of her mother's poverty and wanted to help out. Her solution was to steal things with her left or devil's hand. The elder daughter became aware of I-Jin's thinking and coerced and accompanied her returning items with an apology
The older of the two daughters I-Ann encounters an old school mate who asks her why despite having high marks she is not in university. Poverty was the explanation. We see a short visit to a father who is receiving oxygen and I-Ann gives him a brutal curse for abandoning his family. She is sexually promiscuous and wears provocative clothes
We can only hope their prospects improve, but it doesn't seem likely. The big secret comes from out in left field. It upsets some people, but the one who revealed it is relieved. Let your imagination run wild.
One other movie gave me such a surprise. See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/02/the-message-is-spoiler.html
Some of the people who made it happen.
Sean Baker was a writer, editor and executive producer. He believes in the benefits of an intimacy co-ordinators. He had the idea for this film over 20 years ago. Sean has 14 writing credits, 15 for directing and 15 for producing including "The Florida Project" (2017) and "Anora" (2024) which made him the first person to win 4 Oscars for the same film.
Shih-Ching Tsou was the director, writer and executive producer She was born and raised in Taiwan, but moved to New York City for Media studies where she met Sean Baker and went on to collaborate in several films. She has 7 producing credits, 3 acting credits, 2 directing credits and has been a costume designer for at least two films including "The Florida Project" (2017).
Tzu Hao Kao was the cinematographer. He has 10 cinematography credits and 3 for the camera and electrical department. This film was done with an I phone.
Janel Tsai played Shu-Fen, the mother. She has 37 acting credits and 1 for producing.
Shih-Yuan Ma plays I-Ann, the elder daughter. She was studying communications at university when Shih-Ching Tsou spotted her modeling on Instagram and recruited her. This is her first film role.
Nina Ye played I-jin, the 5 year old daughter, although she was closer to 8 years. In 2020 she started in commercials and has gone on to 18 acting credits. Yes, she is cute and bubbly and from one interview fairly fluent in English.
Teng-Hui Huang plays Johnny, a market vendor and boyfriend to Shu-Fen. He has 69 acting credits and 1 for producing including "Forget You Not" (2025), a series I am just now re-watching. See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/06/forget-you-not-something-from-taiwan.html
"Left Handed Girl" is available on Netflix with subtitles or dubbing.
Steve Hartman had been a good news specialist at the end of a newscast to counteract all the heavy news. In 1997 he was asked to follow up with the parents of children killed in school shootings. He felt it was whitewashing and he wanted to do more.
Over 7 years he teamed up with photographer Lou Bopp visiting parents and taking photos of their child's bedroom and viewing home videos. One parent said he didn't think there was any benefit for him participating, but thought it might be helpful for others. Other parents felt the experience of the story was beneficial for them. One older brother started calmly talking, about his sister, but broke into tears. Steve was shown clothes bought for a special occasion, but never worn.
As Steve said he wished more Americans could view these rooms feeling it would make a difference. These could be your children. School shootings had gone from 17 per year up to 132. The phrase that springs to mind is "what might have been."
Joshua Seftel was the director and producer. He had delivered babies with his father, Dr. Lee Seltel, an obstetrician. His first film, "Lost and Found" (1992) resulted in an increase in adoptions of Romanian orphans. Joshua has 29 credits as a producer, 28 as a director and 9 as a writer.
Music was provided by Alex Sommers. He attended the Berklee College of Music. He went on to run a recording studio in Reykjavik, Iceland. He has 34 music credits, 14 for the music department and 4 for the sound department.
"All of the Empty Rooms" is also available on Netflix.
Both these films are memorable for different reasons, but for most of you both are well worth the effort.
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