TIFF 50: Sweden's "Eagles of the Republic" and Taiwan's "Left-Handed Girl"

by Cláudio Alves

For the past three years, a big part of my TIFF journey has revolved around the Best International Film Oscar submissions. Although I try not to limit myself to award contenders when deciding what to watch and cover, this particular race is very close to my heart, often serving as a bridge between more mainstream audiences and the endless possibilities of world cinema. Earlier, I shared my thoughts on Norway's Sentimental Value, but today, it's time to examine that nation's Scandinavian neighbor, Sweden. And then, let's travel east, to Taiwan, where we find our most recent Oscar king producing, editing, and co-writing his longtime collaborator's solo directorial debut. Tarik Saleh's Eagles of the Republic and Shih-Ching Tsou's Left-Handed Girl await us…

EAGLES OF THE REPUBLIC, Tarik Saleh

By and large, Saleh's so-called Cairo trilogy has been a matter of diminishing returns. The Nile Hilton proved a worthwhile spin on film noir tropes to explore Egyptian corruption, leaning on the classicism of old-fashioned star vehicles through its focus on Fares Fares' cynical sleuth. Cairo Conspiracy had more in common with the great paranoia thrillers of the 1970s, though it suffered from Saleh's formal timidity that made it feel tamer and less urgent than it should have. It beggars belief, but if possible, Eagles of the Republic is even worse in that regard. Indeed, it repeats its predecessors' mistakes tenfold and then some. For sure, its biggest sin might be how boring the whole affair turns out to be. 

Just like Nile Hilton and Conspiracy, the narrative is set in Egypt's capital and delves deep into the webs of influence and systematic tyranny that lie beneath the surface of social order. This time, the whole thing revolved around George Fahmy, a popular leading man whose arrogance leads him to believe he's above the machinations of those in power. When asked to participate in a new movie whose premise suggests naught but propaganda, he even thinks he can refuse the offer. As George soon finds out, he cannot. And still, the star persists in his delusions of invulnerability, risking an affair with the general in charge of the production. 

For its first act, Eagles of the Republic aims for comedy of a broadness perchance unbecoming to such subject matters. Then again, if Iannucci can do it, why not Saleh? And sure enough, there are some laughs to be had, but never hearty enough or with the proper sharpness to leave a mark. To make matters worse, these unpersuasive stabs at humor constantly undercut the narrative stakes, obfuscating them through clumsy tonal gambits. Things improve near the end, when the Swedish cineaste relinquishes his humorous ambitions and capitulates to the demands of conventional drama. Still, the feeling of prosaicness never leaves, nor does urgency manifest itself with the necessary strength. 

Turning one's back to tone and theme and narrative, the audiovisual aspect leaves much to be desired, too. Apart from an exciting credits sequence that lovingly exults the history of Egyptian movie posters, there's nothing much to write home about the sights and sounds on display. There should be a palpable difference between the blatant falsehood of the film within the film and what surrounds it, yet such contrasts are hard to grasp. All this to say, thank heavens for Fares Fares. He makes us believe in George's stardom as much as his eventual downfall, delineating the ego death of someone who entered the screen as more ego than man. If not for him, Eagles of the Republic would be impossible to sit through, much less recommend.

LEFT-HANDED GIRL, Shih-Ching Tsou 

Mostly known for her working relationship with Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou's foray into solo filmmaking risks being overshadowed by the man with whom she co-directed Take Out, way back in 2004. It's difficult to discuss Left-Handed Girl without drawing comparisons to the various Baker projects Tsou helped along the way in a myriad of capacities. The Florida Project looms especially large over Taiwan's official Oscar submission for the 98th Academy Awards, sharing themes of single motherhood, economic strife, sweet men who're good with kids, a blend of farce and melodrama as twinned forces, a bright, colorful story, a spirited little heroine. But one must look beyond the elephant in the room. In fact, let's pretend he's not there at all.

So, our lead is I-Jing, the titular left-handed girl who, at five, has lost her father and must face a new status quo as both her mom and older sister find work in one of Taipei's busiest night markets after years living in the countryside. To make matters worse, grandpa has been pestering her with old superstitions. The left hand is the devil's hand, he says, prompting the kid to dissociate herself from whatever that hellbent appendage does. In practice, this means I-Jing embarks on a life of mischief, justifying every bad deed with the rationale that it wasn't her who did it. No, no, it was the devil. But before one gets too comfortable with such whimsy, Left-Handed Girl is keen on clashing childhood's innocence with adult melodrama.

Because the little girl's perspective is choppily intercut with that of the women in her life. And in good neorealist fashion, they're both going through it. The matriarch, Shu-Fen, is at the end of her rope, struggling under the weight of parental judgment and unable to pay for the noodle stall that's become her household's primary source of income. Her daughter, I-Ann, moves through life with open hostility, concealing some secret softness beneath a mask of sharp edges, all sticking out and eager to hurt. A sexual liaison with her boss is bound to end in disaster, but even that might be preferable to the feeling that makes chase, day and night – that she's not enough, that she made all the wrong choices, that she's trapped and there's no salvation in sight.

Honestly, I almost wish Tsou had taken her film into the Cannes Main Competition rather than the Critics' Week since these players – Shih-Yuan Ma, Janel Tsai, and Nina Ye – could have been brilliant winners for one of those shared Best Actress prizes that, after last year's debacle, need a rehabilitation of sorts. Even as their director loses control, whether by lacking generosity for some characters or swiveling too hard between tonalities, those thespians are always holding the film up, making the material sing in ways I wouldn't think possible in less gifted hands.

When the escalation of the narrative's third act reaches its zenith, they're there to keep the whole project from toppling over. Sadly, every other element probably required a second revision, or perhaps a slight adjustment, fine-tuning, and tinkerings. Take the lack of temporal awareness in a narrative where time stretching out since the patriarch's death feels so fundamental to the arcs of each protagonist. Or consider the illegal immigration plotline that goes nowhere after disrupting the flow of the remaining stories a couple of times too many. While lovely, Left-Handed Girl still bears the marks of a filmmaker finding themselves, full of promise but still a long way from greatness.

Eagles of the Republic doesn't currently have US distribution. However, Left-Handed Girl will enjoy a limited theatrical run on November 14, before it starts streaming on Netflix, November 28.