Reviewed By Jarrett Yang 

Winning four Golden Horse Awards, including Best Director and Best Supporting Actor, at last year’s ceremony, Old Fox (老狐狸) is a Taiwanese film I initially did not expect would come to Singapore. 

Movie poster of Old Fox. (screengrab from Golden Village website) | Credit: Sky Films Entertainment 

In what is now supposed to be the last film which the great master Hou Hsiao-hsien served as one of the producers following the announcement of his retirement due to declining health, Old Fox tells the story of the Liao father-and-son duo who struggle to make ends meet as they both dream of buying their own apartment and opening a hair salon one day. 

The end of the 1980s, transitioning to the 1990s, was a particularly challenging period in Taiwanese history. Other than the high inflation and stock market volatility depicted in the movie, Taiwan had also just ended martial law in 1987, lost their well-respected president Chiang Ching-kuo a year after, and began to endure the extremely gray and long-lasting regional political climate as a result of the Tiananmen Square incident in Mainland China. The turn for a more democratizing Taiwan also brought about increased economic competitiveness, a phenomenon which drove different characters in the film to resort to alternative measures in order to keep afloat, such as moonlighting and investing in stocks. 

Still of Liu Kuan-ting (left) and Eugenie Liu in Old Fox | Credits: BIT Production Co., Sky Films Entertainment 

Bluntly speaking, the main message of the film, however well-conveyed by the end of it, need not rely so heavily on the specific historical context in which the film is set. This is especially true as the last scene of the film came on. Without spoiling it, the film’s last scene practically provided the ending of the story so clearly and idiot-proof that some audiences may not appreciate it. Personally, I felt the writers could trust more confidently that their story and its message can land as effectively without the need for a last scene like that in the film. I finished the film with the impression that the last scene was specifically curated to serve as a time juxtaposition to the rest of the film, and hence felt it was unnecessary. 

Still of Kadowaki Mugi in Old Fox | Credits: BIT Production Co., Sky Films Entertainment 

While we are still on the script, Old Fox also fumbles a little with the side story of Liao Tai-lai’s romantic past. Apart from explaining certain music choices in the film, Tai-lai’s reconnection with his high school sweetheart served little purpose for the narrative and could have otherwise made the film slightly more bladder-friendly. The character Yang Jun-mei (also known as “Mrs. Hua” in the film), played by Kadowaki Mugi, did however contribute to a pivotal montage in the film, bringing the story from its second act to the last in a key moment of revelations. I find this montage well-edited but it is the music in this montage that stands out the most: Chris Hou, the film’s composer, won one of the film’s four Golden Horse Awards last November with his whimsical and melancholic score for this film.  

As a sucker for great performances, and who recently grew to appreciate outstanding child performances more, Old Fox’s main character – Liao Jie, played by one of Taiwan’s most sought-after child actors today, Bai Runyin, showcased Bai’s talent and potential extensively. Liao Jie is, in my view, one of the most complex, layered and challenging youth characters in film (of any language) in recent years. Bai, who is no newcomer by now, leveraged on his adorable appearance and endearing demeanor to bring to life this kid who longs for a better life, but who is shown many questionable and even downright unbecoming ways of attaining it. Bai’s Liao Jie is a character whose journey is evidently more mature and morally dark for a child his age. It is perhaps precisely this intricacy that divides audiences – on one hand, some might condemn the negative portrayal of what the world imparts and how it influences a child’s ethics, and on the other hand, some others might applaud the daring characterization and screenplay. In any case, personally, I look forward to future projects of Bai Runyin. And as for Akio Chen’s titular “Old Fox” Mr. Xie, he is arguably the character that left the deepest impression on me in all of 2023’s Chinese-language movies, and that is largely attributed to Chen’s masterful performance, which earned him the Best Supporting Actor Golden Horse Award in 2023. 

If directing is the conduit of all creative aspects in filmmaking, then Hsiao Ya-Chuan truly delivered the best outcome for this film. Hsiao assembled and coordinated some of 2023’s best cinematography, editing, production design work and acting performances among Chinese-language movies. I would have submitted this film as Taiwan’s official entry to the 96th Oscars’ Best International Feature category. 

Apart from its imperfect screenplay, Old Fox is overall a timely work of art and social commentary which explores the human psychology of one-upmanship versus compassion and empathy, in a time where scams and fraud plague the modern world. 

Old Fox earns four stars on my Letterboxd. Catch it at The Projector before it ends its run in Singapore! 

第60届金马奖的大赢家是台湾电影《老狐狸》，勇夺四座金马奖，其中包括最佳导演及最佳男配角。这是一部我原先没预料到会在新加坡上映的台湾华语电影。 

《老狐狸》的监制之一是侯孝贤大师，这也是他因病退休前的最后一部电影。 

本片讲述在 1989 年，经济不稳定的台湾，廖泰来（刘冠廷饰）与独子廖界（白润音饰）谋生的故事。廖父子梦想能买下自己的房子并开一间理发店，但省吃俭用的他们却因为通货膨胀而离梦想越来越远。他们的房东谢老板（陈慕义饰），人称 “老狐狸”，机缘巧合遇见廖界。两人结交后，老狐狸与廖界分享自己如何 “断绝同情” 使自己成功。 

这部电影的时代背景与氛围刻画得栩栩如生。八十年代末至九十年代初是台湾现代史非常重要的一部分。除了片中可见的通货膨胀、股票与经济的不稳定以外，台湾在 1987 年刚解严，众人敬仰的前总统蒋经国又在一年后逝世，而 1989 年的六四事件掀开了至今仍乌云笼罩的两岸政治景象。这个大环境使台湾的求生欲更强，竞争激烈的社会导致不同人想方设法让自己立足。这也是为什么片中有些角色会透过别的管道赚钱，例如卖面的李家玩股票等等。 

电影的寓意固然深远且有深度，但尾声的最后一幕也许太过直白，甚至还有点多余。倘若编导对自己的故事与电影的呈现方式有足够的信心，这最后一幕应该可以省略掉。在我看来，这最后一幕有点刻意为了和电影主轴的时代背景形成对比而拍。 

其次，廖泰来的感情线也是剧本欠佳的另一个地方。《老狐狸》片中某些令人如痴如醉的经典曲子出自于廖泰来与青梅竹马杨君眉的爱情故事，这条感情线却在故事中并没有多大的意义。不过，杨君眉本身在片中后半有一场戏，是重要的一环。这一幕在三个不同的故事线之间来回切转，是电影里剪辑较为突出的转折点之一。除了剪辑，这场戏的配乐给人的印象更深刻，侯志坚丰富多彩又有几分伤感的配乐也为他夺下他演艺事业的第一座金马奖。 

《老狐狸》最成功的地方无疑是演员们精湛的演出。台湾现今炙手可热的童星之一 – 白润音，挑起大梁担任本片主角，充分展现演技，前途不可估量。廖界这个角色是近年来最有意思，最具挑战性，层次又鲜明的孩童电影角色之一。白润音透过自己可爱的外表及讨喜的形象将一个渴望美好未来的男孩诠释得相当细腻。面对现实的残酷、外界的险恶，廖界在片中的成长扑朔迷离，而白润音有着超龄的过人表现。早在几年前的《亲爱的房客》里崭露头角的白润音如今已不是新人，大家应该期待他未来更优异的作品。至于金马男配角得主陈慕义，他的演出更是毋庸置疑，而 “老狐狸” 谢老板这个角色也是 2023 年华语电影中令我印象最深刻的角色。 

萧雅全导演得奖实至名归。除了演员们的精彩演出，《老狐狸》在各个技术层面都非常亮眼。不论是摄影、剪辑、美术与造型设计等，萧雅全拍出了 2023 年最好的台湾电影之一。从客观的角度来看，《老狐狸》才应该是代表台湾角逐本届奥斯卡金像奖最佳国际影片殊荣的台湾电影。 

这部电影的美中不足即是它的剧本。拍得那么好却无缘金马最佳原著剧本及最佳剧情片，可想而知这是多么可惜。不过，《老狐狸》仍是一部发人省思的好作品。在这充满诈骗的网路世代，这部电影透过对人心的挖掘，探讨人是如何看待个人利益，又是如何在自私与同理心之间徘徊取舍。我给《老狐狸》在 Letterboxd 打四颗星。 

《老狐狸》现已在 The Projector 上映。 

Jarrett is a devoted cinephile for over half of his life. Apart from movies, coffee keeps him awake and music keeps him alive. Having studied theatre and performed as an actor before, he’s also a sucker for great performances.

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This review is also published on Singapore Film Society as part of *SCAPE’s Film Critics Lab: A Writing Mentorship Programme.