“Our Child” is a Hong Kong and United Kingdom coproduction written and directed by British Chinese filmmaker Anatole Sloan. The project was selected as the 2024 Drama Recipient of The Pitch Film Fund, a United Kingdom based initiative supporting emerging filmmakers, and was subsequently developed through the fund. “Our Child” is Sloan’s debut fiction short, following his earlier career as a documentary photographer and filmmaker. Set during a single Mid Autumn Festival evening, “Our Child” was shot on location at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong and was inspired by the story of Hagar and Sarai in Genesis 16.
During a Mid Autumn Festival dinner in Hong Kong, an affluent family gathers to celebrate the expected arrival of a long awaited son. Food, blessings and carefully observed family rituals create an appearance of warmth and harmony, while Auntie Irene, the family matriarch, presides over the gathering. Sarah and her husband, Abe, are preparing to raise the unborn child, whose arrival is treated by the family as the resolution of a long period of infertility.
The child, however, is being carried by Xia Jia, a woman from mainland China whose position within the household is both necessary and uncertain. As the celebration continues, Xia Jia observes Sarah and the family that intends to claim the baby as its own. Sarah must confront the limits of a motherhood based on a child she could not carry, while Xia Jia begins to question her responsibility towards the son she is expected to surrender.
Anatole Sloan directs a very smart short, which manages to make a number of comments in its 17 minutes without feeling stuffed at any point. A woman is carrying another woman’s baby, a concept that is essentially quite modern, yet Irene and the rest of the relatives still talk about auspicious dates, lucky colours and a number of other elements embedded in tradition. Consequently, the irony permeating the narrative becomes quite palpable.
At the same time, although the story follows what is essentially a staple of family dramas, with women of different ages coexisting and clashing in the same setting, the particular roster of characters makes the story anything but typical. A matriarch who is politely bossy and openly accusatory, Sarah, who feels imperfect due to her inability to produce a “successor”, and a poor young woman from the mainland who probably agreed to undertake such an endeavour for the money create a rather intense amalgam that carries the movie from beginning to end.
The comments about the place of women across different generations in such a patriarchal setting are rather evident. However, Sloan makes another observation, particularly through Sarah’s attitude towards Xia Jia, which mirrors how harshly Irene treats her. He shows how bad behaviour can continue from the top to the bottom even as people progress through the hierarchy, in a rather realistic remark on human nature.
The comments presented benefit greatly from the performances of the three leading ladies. Patra Au, as Irene, is amusingly poisonous in her remarks and in the way she dominates the entire family in true diva fashion. Karena Lam, as Sarah, presents the way her character tries to suppress her shame and enervation over how she is treated in excellent fashion. Meanwhile, Yiyi Liu, as Xia Jia, plays the role of the timid observer with gusto.
Director of photography Rui Jiang Ong captures most of the proceedings from Xia Jia’s perspective, an approach that definitely benefits the narrative. The overall visual treatment is polished and stylized, something that fits the affluent lifestyle portrayed and the setting of the story, while the shots of Hong Kong highlights its beauty. Christopher CF Chow BFE’s editing results in a mid tempo rhythm that also suits the narrative nicely.
“Our Child” is an excellent short, one that manages to communicate its comments intelligently while benefiting greatly from the high level of direction, acting and visuals.
