Taiwan’s Oscar Hopeful ‘Old Fox’ Explores Economic Inequality Through Child’s Eyes: ‘Freedom Is Our Opportunity’

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran 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. 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.