Taiwan‘s submission for the 97th Academy Awards international feature race, “Old Fox,” emerged from director Hsiao Ya-Chuan’s own parental challenges in explaining fairness and justice to his children.
“About 10 years ago, when my kids were around the same age as the children in the film, they started asking me difficult questions, such as whether there is justice and whether there is fairness,” says Hsiao. “Over the years, I’ve had many internal debates and found numerous answers and questions within myself. In some ways, this film is an answer to my children.”
Set against Taiwan’s economic bubble of 1989, the drama follows 11-year-old Liao Jie and his father as they struggle to save money for a home, only to watch property prices skyrocket beyond their reach. The boy finds an unlikely mentor in his landlord, nicknamed “Old Fox,” who teaches him survival skills his father never could – though these lessons come with their own moral cost. The cast is led by Bai Run-Yin and Liu Kuan-Ting.
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Hsiao drew from his own experiences as a college student during Taiwan’s rapid economic transformation following the lifting of martial law in 1987. “New laws and financial tools emerged, such as the stock market, allowing people to become wealthier, and many took advantage of these tools to get rich quickly,” he recalls. “For those who couldn’t manage to take advantage of these opportunities, they didn’t necessarily get poorer, but relatively, they were worse off because they hadn’t become wealthier like others.”
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The film has already gained significant acclaim in Taiwan, dominating the Golden Horse Awards last year with wins including best director for Hsiao and best supporting performances for Akio Chen and Eugenie Liu. It also scored at the Taipei Film Awards, taking home prizes for best feature, director, and screenplay among others.
While the story is set in Taiwan, Hsiao believes its themes of economic inequality resonate globally. “These kinds of economic fluctuations have happened in many different countries over the years, and currently the situation is quite volatile,” he notes. “Even though the story I described in Taiwan happened more than 30 years ago, they still exist in various forms in many other countries around the world.”
The film marks Hsiao’s fourth feature collaboration with legendary Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien serving as executive producer. “Rather than being influenced by his style, I believe it’s his work ethic and attitudes toward people that have influenced my work and perhaps my life as well,” says Hsiao.
Looking at Taiwan’s film industry today, Hsiao sees both opportunities and hurdles ahead. “Freedom is our opportunity. In Taiwan, we have the creative freedom to tell and explore different stories, genres, and types of narratives,” he says. “However, the challenge is that we have a limited domestic market. That’s why we need international markets. To appeal to broader audiences, we should reach out to different continents and regions, including Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, America, and many others.”
Taiwan’s previous Academy Award success includes three nominations and one win for Lee Ang, with “A Sun” making the international feature shortlist in recent years. Hsiao is hopeful about Taiwan cinema’s Oscar prospects: “In Taiwan, we are constantly presenting a different landscape and a unique perspective to the world. Taiwanese cinema should definitely be seen.”
