Review | Venice 2025: Girl movie review – Shu Qi makes promising directing debut with family drama

First-time director Shu Qi helms this story about a withdrawn Taiwanese girl dealing with the return of her mother’s violent ex-boyfriend

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A still from Girl, directed by Shu Qi and starring Roy Chiu, Joanne Tang and Bai Xiao-ying. Photo: Mandarin Vision

Published: 10:20pm, 4 Sep 2025Updated: 10:32pm, 4 Sep 2025

3/5 stars

A coming-of-age tale set in 1988 Taiwan, Girl marks the feature debut of Shu Qi, the acclaimed Taiwanese actress and model.

This year has already been a celebratory one for her following an appearance in Bi Gan’s Resurrection, which won a Special Jury Prize at Cannes. Now she is presenting Girl in competition at the Venice Film Festival, a film that bears the influence of her working relationship with Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien following the three films they made together.

The “girl” in question is Hsiao-lee (Bai Xiao-ying), a quiet child who lives with her mother Chuan (singer Joanne Tang Yu-chi, aka 9m88) and sister (Lai Yu-fei). But trouble rears its head in the shape of Chiang (Roy Chiu Tse), her mother’s former lover, a boozy, violent fellow who staggers back into her life.

“Everyone has a past, right?” we hear, but this is someone nobody would ever want resurfacing. In the sweltering heat of the city, this “crazy drunk” acts like the bully he is. At one point, he beats Chuan as she goes out without make-up, growling: “People would think I abuse you.”

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