TIFF '25: "Oca," "Wrong Husband," "Steve," and "Left-Handed Girl"
Capsule reviews of four gems seen at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
For this capsule write-up, which’ll be my last one for the festival this year, I’ve decided on four pictures. Two of which are more under-the-radar gems, including a prize winner, and the other two are Netflix titles.
Oca:
After her transcendent leading turn in the underrated horror film Huesera: The Bone Woman, Natalia Solián stars in another affecting depiction of a woman enduring societal isolation. But while Huesera: The Bone Woman was about the challenges of motherhood and a confrontation of the maternal ideals often imposed on women, Karla Badillo’s Oca is an examination of faith and nunhood.
Natalia Solián stars as Rafaela, a nun on a mission in Karla Badillo’s “Oca.” (Photo courtesy of Las Jaras Films)
Rafaela (Natalia Solián) is a nun who experiences strange prophetic dreams, causing her to feel alienated by her fellow nuns in her convent. As a way of aiding her convent, Rafaela goes on a mission to find the local archbishop. Along the way, she encounters various figures who show varying degrees of faith, including a local group of traveling villagers who exploit Rafaela for their personal gain, becoming too devoted to their religion where they act as saints in their own mind.
Whether it involves her scooter being stolen or being used by the villagers who claim to be of a higher religious ground, Rafaela believes that her suffering right lead to her deemed worthier of God’s grace, abiding by the adage “God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.” Meanwhile, as Rafaela treads through the trials handed to her, it’s left to the viewer to examine their beliefs.
As much as it examines Rafaela’s unwavering devotion to her faith, Oca also acts as a cautionary tale on the perils of having too much faith. We always feel tempted to look up in the sky whenever things go wrong, wondering if it’s how fate is supposed to plan out. Yet, Oca stresses how we shouldn’t look up too much. In the end, the film gets a bit preachy (no pun intended) in its messaging. However, its messaging along with the lush cinematography by DP Diana Garay and the central performance by Natalia Sólian, who’s as quietly affecting as she is in Huesera: The Bone Woman, are more than enough to put it in masterpiece territory. It’s a promising feature debut from writer/director Karla Badillo that has one curious to see what her next move is.
Grade: B+
Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband):
The Best Canadian Film prize winner at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Wrong Husband is an intriguing molding of real-life historical culture with supernatural elements by director/co-writer Zacharias Kunuk.
Set 4,000 years ago, Wrong Husband follows two young lovers, Kaujak (Theresia Kappianaq) and Sapa (Haiden Angutimarak) whose marriage was promised to each other since birth. However, their love gets put to the test once Kaujak’s mother marries a man from another clan, causing them to be physically separated, and a slew of suitors backed by an evil shaman vie for Kaujak’s affection.
As Wrong Husband spotlights the Inuit people and their customs while inviting viewers to ponder the significance of the troll that roams the main village, at its center lies an understated yet commanding performance by newcomer Theresia Kappianaq. With just a despondent gaze, she has the viewer yearning for the two destined lovers to be together again as much as Kaujak does. Similarly, Haiden Angutimarak’s performance as the earnest yet determined Sapa only fuels the hope that the lovers will carry out their fate. They’re the guiding force of a film that may start off as too much of a slow burn yet still thrives on its vivid storytelling and visual aesthetics.
Grade: B
Steve:
Based on the 2009 novella Shy by Max Porter, Steve, which is currently on Netflix, follows its titular reform school headteacher (played by Cillian Murphy) who tries to get his students in line as the school faces closure. Told in a docudrama format, Steve follows the perspectives of Steve and the faculty members as well as the students who’re interviewed about both their school and home lives.
A worthy entry in the “schoolteacher inspires a class of misfit students” film canon, Steve distinguishes itself from other entries within that pantheon with not just its film making format but how it examines a badly under-discussed issue: Teenage male depression. Given how teen depression can be conflated with teen angst and how young boys are always told to man up because showing sadness is viewed as weakness, it surely makes Steve feel all the more pressured to aid his students who’re already being failed by the education system shutting the school down.
The film is also aided by its exemplary, lived-in performances. Lead actor Cillian Murphy exudes low-key magnetic energy as Steve while Emily Watson, who’s had a great festival between this and her supporting role in Hamnet, astounds as Jenny, the school headmistress who’s headstrong yet desperately trying to get the boys to not see her as a villain. However, the film’s real discovery is Jay Lycurgo as Shy. Lycurgo successfully goes toe-to-toe with his Oscar-winning co-star as a student troubled by both his mental health and his mother cutting him out of her life.
Despite its runtime at almost 100 minutes, Steve succumbs to feeling longer than it is which almost put me at arm’s length. But in the end, the acting along with its messaging on the importance of teen mental health and feeling less alone, which especially hits home during the climax, make Steve an affecting-enough drama.
Grade: B
Left-Handed Girl:
After making her feature directorial debut with Take Out, which she co-directed with long-time collaborator Sean Baker, director/writer Shih-Ching Tsou once again returns to the director’s chair with her solo debut Left-Handed Girl. While not as physically stress-inducing as Take Out, Left-Handed Girl is just as affecting in its depiction of a working-class family and is another film to not watch on an empty stomach.
As Shu-Fen (Janel Tsai) and her daughters I-Jing (Nina Ye) and I-Ann (Shih-Yuan Ma) relocate to Taipei for a fresh start, a myriad of complications arise. Between Shu-Fen facing money troubles as she tries keeping her noodle stand afloat, I-Ann dealing with love woes, and I-Jing believing her left hand to be cursed due to a superstition conceived by her grandfather, causing her to engage in reckless behavior, the three women have trouble readjusting to their old home yet still learn to forge ahead.
Along with its heart-rending story line, it’s the central performances that help give Left-Handed Girl its naturalistic feel. Between the three main actresses, who all do great work, it’s newcomer Shih-Yuan Ma who’s a revelation as I-Ann. Shih-Yuan Ma is so powerful and dynamic as a disgruntled young woman having to act as both a sister and a mother figure to I-Jing that she makes you forget it’s her first acting role. One of the year’s best performances.
Grade: A-
Oca, Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband), Steve, and Left-Handed Girl all screened at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
Oca and Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) are currently seeking U.S. distribution. Steve is available to stream on Netflix. Left-Handed Girl will be released in theaters on November 14th before streaming on Netflix on November 28th.