A young woman (Lin Dongping) with an estranged father in Hong Kong embarks on an oneiric journey from mainland China to find the man who abandoned her 20 years ago. Borrowed Time is the first fiction feature from Choy Ji, a documentary filmmaker from Guangdong; it is also executive produced by veteran Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan.
The film’s aspirations to explore what it means for families to be impacted by a patriarch’s infidelity and the existence of dual families in China and Hong Kong falls a bit short. The protagonist’s search for her father is muddled by an aimless journey and sudden encounter with someone else from her past, making it hard to find the film’s true meaning and intent. Abstract visuals and scenes bleed into the story, lending Borrowed Time a borderline fantastical feel that’s somewhat confusing for most of the runtime.
The film showcases dreamlike visuals, as seen from a mainlander’s perspective, in a muted version of Hong Kong, absent of its usual high energy and intense crowds. From China’s fruit farms and jungles to Hong Kong’s typhoons and night markets, viewers can revel in lush cinematography, tender lighting, and lingering shots of small details. Borrowed Time is a very pretty, but ultimately dull mood piece, which suffers from glacial pacing and an uncompelling young lead. The protagonist spends countless moments mainly lost in thought in a prettily lensed locale, and it’s often unclear how she got there and why.
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The 28th edition of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival runs in-person and online November 13-24. For tickets, scheduling, and other details about this year’s programming, visit the festival’s website.
