A Study of Trauma Narratives in Borrowed Time

Guangdong and Hong Kong share a common historical and cultural context. However, in modern times, the history of colonization and immigration in Hong Kong has caused an identity crisis among the people of both places. In 2023, director Cai Jie’s film Borrowed Time starts from the family lives of the people in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, focusing on the emotional trauma brought to the families of both places due to Hong Kong’s unique colonial and immigration issues. In the film, the father’s abandonment and departure caused psychological trauma to the mother and daughter. The absent father continuously affected their daily lives, bringing persistent distress to their lives. This article combines trauma theory and film narrative analysis to explore the portrayal and causes of the mother and daughter trauma narrative in this film. Meanwhile, this article discovers that the distress in the family is not only due to the father’s departure but also significantly due to the sense of powerlessness of the mother and daughter. The powerlessness lies in cognitive biases, which have caused the women in the family to still be unable to escape the shadow of traditional patriarchy and achieve psychological healing from their trauma.