WATCH NOW
Mak Yuen’s fiancé stumbles upon the actual story of her mother and father, Ka-Fai, who abandoned them and Guangzhou over 30 years ago to go to Hong Kong. Turns out he had come to China for work and met her mother who he lived with for a decade, but he was in fact already married in Hong Kong before coming over. Yuen-Ting, who does not suffer from endless wrong, decides to go to Hong-Kong and meet her father, but a chance meeting with an old acquaintance who gifted her a CD titled “Borrowed Time” alters her trip beyond recognition.
To start off, the film is amazing visually and Huang Shuli’s cinematography is definitely a plus. The DP’s use of doors and windows as frames, the panoramic shots, the long shots, and the zooming-in shots of both characters and Guangzhou and Hong Kong is truly unique, with the fact that the artistry is maintained on this high level regardless of the many settings the story is placed in (like the fields, markets, apartments or even the forest) adds even more to the job done in the visuals of “Borrowed Time”. Ultimately, that Lin Dongping ‘writes’ so well on the camera adds to my conviction in the overall power of the particular aspect.
As for the context, the road movie narrative structure which frequently shifts locations and incorporates elements of time travel and fantasy works remarkably for the arthouse style of the film. This is made possible by the dramatic story which anchors the film, preventing it from becoming overly self-serving. The father’s motives and actions certainly provide a sense of subtle mystery which is appropriately captured in the ending. However, even more fascinating is the metaphor from the interrelations between the two women and the men in the story, more so the father who very cleverly shows the relationship between Hong Kong and China. This dimension goes beyond the metaphor since the difference in mindset between the two groups is clearly visible as the protagonist embarks on the journey, much identically to the two cities’ presentations.
Regarding its protagonist, Lin Dongping as Yuen-ting offers yet another commendable performance, maintaining a rather realistic balance throughout the film, her towering performance being rendered with the sequences in her nightmares and the one with her mother, which also applies to Pan Jie in the role of the latter. “Qin Yanan’s editing produces an equally expected slow pace along with an overall very fitting rhythm, although the transition between the two cities could have been done better. On the other hand, the economical 93 minutes of the duration are definitely a tick in the pros column, particularly in an age where all movies seem to take too long.”
To watch more movies like Borrowed Time: Falling Apart (2022) visit 123movies
Also Watch for more movies like:
