Old Fox
Introduction
In an early scene in the Taiwanese Film Old Fox, Taiwan’s Official Entry To The Oscars of 2025, you see a character telling his son to shower. What seemingly seems like a regular scene, soon changes course into a social commentary wherein you see the using a bath tub to fill in the hot water just enough to bathe, while signalling to his father to turn off the ‘gas’ (a makeshift geyser). The setting is of Taiwan from the late 80s and early 90s just after the enforcement of the martial law wherein the common folks are accustomed to hardship, both financially and physically speaking. Amidst this, rises a story of aspiration between the father and the son, wherein the latter wishes that the duo open a hair salon shop of their own which incidently was his mother last wish before passing away. Yet the conflict here isn’t necessarily about aspirations but more about moralities as the little boy Liao Jie is caught in the conundrum between a powerful stranger that be befriends who teaches him about imposing his power versus his own father who is a righteous man.
Story & Screenplay
Set in the late 80s, Old Fox offers a searing commentary on the economic state of a country as seen from the lens of a little boy. The writing offers a great sense of characterization with respect to the young protagonist who is slowly finding his voice based on the world around him. A lot of things remain unsaid in his wife – his relationship with his mother that may have been short-lived, the slowly changing landscape that never really improved the financial situation of his father, yet his relationship with his father which was perhaps the only pure relationship in his life until then. Hence, it hardly comes as a surprise that you see him obeying and also subconsciously following the righteous ordeals of his father who is an idealist even while being content with his day job that doesn’t pay him as much. The conflict for the young protagonist also stems from as emotional aspiration – that of his dead mother while completely being detached from the materialistic byproducts that come with it. In other words, his aspiration is only limited to his father earning enough money to buy the shop below their rented flat to open a hair salon, and not necessarily to earn a profit from it.
The drama here features characters, each of whom represent a definite virtue. While the young protagonist represents innocence, his father (Liao Tai-Lai) is shown to work as a waiter in a restaurant – thus representing selfless service that is righteous in many ways. You are also briefly acquainted with a character (Lin Chen-Chen) who frequents his restaurant only to see him while eating very little. That character represents a sense of nostalgia and depicts loneliness as a result of her lost love for Liao with whom she had shared her childhood with. The distance between them is essentially the economic state that the country finds itself in, even as the property rates shoot up suddenly. On the other hand, the protagonist keeps crossing paths with a character (Yang Jun-Mei), someone who represents temporary joy of sorts which would fast fade away like the red dress that she dons (no puns intended, an incident that changes things for here too). To top it, there is a character (Old Fox) who finds himself at the top of the food-chain, a powerful entity whom Jie befriends, only for the latter’s outlook to change while threatening the foundations of morality laid down by his father.
One of the reasons why Old Fox befriends Jie is because he sees a version of himself from his childhood. You also see him draw parallels wherein he equates Jie’s father with his own mother in terms of the morality that was fed to him. Yet in a sharp constrast, you see him teaching Jie the power of differentiation and ‘Inequality’, citing that the world will never change while the emphasis should be on siding with the powerful. This argument provides a mirror for its viewers as well given how solely relying on morality may not fill stomachs at the end of the day, and if wishing to survive would actually mean to deviate from the morals, and the good from the bad. The drama treads the realms of the reality through this fine line and from the lens of the young protagonist who is caught in a moral dilemma of sorts.
The uneventful life of Jie’s father offers a sharp contrast to that of Old Fox which is brilliantly showcased in a scene that juxtaposes the realities of different characters. Further to this argument, you are also told of the number of people that are distanced from Old Fox, including his own son that didn’t think of him as a good person before dying off. That was a sign of no redemption for Old Fox depicted in a wonderful scene reflecting on his alter ego almost like a reflection. So in a way, Old Fox was also learning from Jie, as much as Jie was learning from the Old Fox. The end depicted a lot of hope both for the viewers and Jie who decided to combine the virtues of his father and Old Fox. Notice how he borrows the idea of ‘drinking ice water’ while replacing the ‘closing of eyes’ with ‘opening them’, a virtue accepting the realities around him while curbing the facet of the phrase ‘None of my Damn Business’. The screenplay is brilliantly penned and makes for a terrific watch.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational but beautifully reflective of the melancholic tone of the drama. The music and the BGM is excellent here and the sound of the saxophone just adds to the pensive mood of the drama, that in turn is a metaphor for the era that the drama is set in, reflective of the prevalent economic crisis of the country. The cinematography features frames that are ridden with a dull sense of lighting. This is also reflective of the depressive times for the people, an underlying cause that did highlight a tragedy in the film. The editing is crisp and sharp even while representing the structured chaos as viewed from the lens of the young protagonist that essentially is a symbol of hope in the long run. Director Hsiao Ya-chuan does an excellent job here in treating this drama with subtle traces of sensitivity. The conflict between right and wrong isn’t as binary as the world believes it to be, something that was masterfully highlighted in the drama here with the inclusion of brilliant characterization. The direction is stupendous here.
Performances
The performances are wonderful here by the members of the cast. Eugenie Liu as Lin Chen-Chen and Mugi Kadowaki as Yamg Jung-Mei are contrasting characters representing nostalgia and a fleeting sense of purpose respectively, and both manage to leave a lasting impression. Kuan-Ting Liu as Liao is excellent here and portrays the righteous qualities of his character with utmost sincerity. Akio Chen as Old Fox is a complex and nuanced character with so many different shades, and brilliantly performed here. Akio never misses a single beat in the drama, and it makes for a towering performance through and through. Bai Run-yin as Jie oozes of innocence and conducts himself with a lot of poise even in quiet scenes of confrontation with his father. His vulnerabilities and insecurities are beautifully represented in an expertly crafted performance by a very talented young actor.
Conclusion
Taiwan’s Official Entry to the Oscars of 2025, Old Fox offers a searing conflict between inequality and morality told through the gaze of a young mind, that makes for a brilliantly poignant watch through and through. Highly Recommended!