“A subtle, poetic drama that moves with a careful, deliberate pace.”

Growing up is not a linear path, but rather a journey filled with unexpected obstacles which we often feel ill-equipped to handle, yet still try to make it through regardless of how difficult that may be. This is the initial impetus for Girl (女孩), the poignant directorial debut of Shu Qi, who takes inspiration from her friend and mentor, the legendary Hou Hsiao-hsien. She tells the story of Hsiao-lee, a quiet girl who is experiencing the trials and tribulations of adolescence while growing up in the Keelung Harbor region. This is one of the main entry-points to Taiwan, reflecting her own inner desire to escape her humdrum life, which is comfortable but unremarkable. She becomes slightly more optimistic when Li-Li, a girl of roughly the same age but far more open to embracing life’s many unexpected pleasures, enters her ambit and shows her that there is always a path forward, even if the journey is not always as predictable as one might hope, and that it is worth simply embracing the future. A subtle, poetic drama that moves with a careful, deliberate pace, evoking the style of many great filmmakers for whom Shu has worked and who serve as clear inspiration, Girl is a lovely testament to the folly of youth and the importance of finding yourself while heading towards adulthood.

The coming-of-age narrative is a form of artistic expression that has always existed in various forms, since these works tend to touch on universal themes, even if the specific stories and contexts may differ. As a result, innovation is often quite difficult for these stories – but there is always value in traditional approaches, which is a principle that Shu allows to guide her as she crafts Girl, a conventional but nonetheless beautiful film that explores ideas with which we are all familiar. Much of this is built from the dynamic between the protagonist and the various characters who play roles in the spiritual and emotional development that accompanies her physical growth, with two in particular being the focal point. Her mother is a stern woman with an ambiguous past that she has chosen to keep carefully hidden, while her new friend is a more free-spirited soul who sees the world in a different way, having a more idealistic view that contrasts heavily with the main character’s more conservative perspective. Girl is a film about someone growing into their womanhood, and discovering that there are obstacles that come when establishing your identity, which can be daunting without the right psychological equipment to handle some of the more challenging days.

Shu carefully explores the interactions between these characters, choosing to construct Girl as a story set across a few generations, all filtered through the eyes of an ambitious but reserved protagonist who has only just begun to understand the scope of what lies before her. Many moving parts go into constructing a story that touches on multiple themes, especially when it is intended to have a gently poetic flow. The director maintains a level of consistency in terms of the emotions – while we might expect it to be slightly heavy-handed considering some of the ideas it is tackling, the film has a nuanced approach that avoids becoming overwrought at all costs. This gives it a genuine, lifelike appearance in terms of both form and content, taking inspiration from the kind of unfurnished, simple realist dramas that usually tend to focus on being honest more than making any grandiose statements. As a slice-of-life drama that does periodically make deeper comments on the journey towards adulthood, Girl is a simple affair, making use primarily of its atmosphere to tell a story that is constructed as a series of interactions connected by a sense of quiet resilience and sincerity, with the evocative cinematography that captures the modest beauty of the protagonist’s environment and the minimalistic score (which only emerges in a couple of key moments) tethering everything to the central narrative.

Those who have been paying attention to cinema from the region over the past quarter of a century should certainly know that Shu is an exceptionally gifted artist when appearing on screen. With Girl she demonstrates that she is just as capable when stepping behind the camera, crafting this tender and moving portrait of childhood and the ways in which someone has to process all the challenges that stand in their way. It’s not a particularly complicated affair, but it does contain many poignant elements which provide a continual sense of nuance to a story that could have been emotionally strained and unnecessarily dense without such a clear, concise directorial perspective. Girl is a tender, delicate examination of the challenges you face while making your way through adolescence, which becomes incredibly difficult without a traditional system of support, or when someone feels like they are consistently being viewed as an outsider. It also provides a fascinating exploration of Taiwanese culture in the 1980s, and while this may not be the focus, it does provide a clear and meaningful backdrop against which the story can play out, adding nuances that could only come from the willingness to engage critically with difficult themes at various levels. Carrying itself with a sincerity and meaningful approach that is genuinely moving, while also offering intriguing insights into the mind of the protagonist, Shu’s work is quite strong, especially considering this is her debut. The film proves to be an effective exploration of childhood, identity and family, particularly highlighting the role they play in the path towards the future.