Old Fox (2023) (Blu-ray) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version) Blu-ray Region A

These changes at first elude Liao Tai Lai (Liu Kuan Ting), an honest and hardworking restaurant server who lives frugally with his 11-year-old son Liao Jie (Bai Run Yin). Tai Lai has been slowly saving up to buy a home, but unbeknownst to him, property prices have surged beyond his expectations. While Tai Lai takes the news in stride, reality hits hard for the young Liao Jie who has stubbornly latched on to the hope of having their own home. While simmering in bitter frustration, Liao Jie meets their landlord whom everyone calls Old Fox (Akio Chen).

Seeing a bit of himself in the tenacious boy, Old Fox takes a liking to Liao Jie, and takes him under the wing. The wily rich man, who weathered much in his own youth, dispenses cold hard advice about how to get ahead in life at the expense of others, and Liao Jie listens and learns for the chance to buy that home. Old Fox's life lessons, however, run counter to Liao Jie's father who always chooses compassion in the face of difficulty.

Bai Run Yin, who has been hailed as an acting prodigy in Taiwan, realistically captures the two sides of Liao Jie, as he fluctuates between the immature intensity of an upset child and the quiet rumination of a considerate son. The intrepid yet impressionable boy sees the prize, but he also gradually sees the trap personified by the lonely Old Fox. Liao Jie's turmoil, mistakes, growth and realizations recall the moral dilemmas we encounter and pivotal choices we make in our journey to becoming a certain kind of adult.

Just as Liao Jie reaches the start of a crossroads, so too does Taiwan in this period. Old Fox uses small personal stories to reflect on the greater tides of choices and changes affecting life from one generation to another. From Tai Lai's money-saving hacks like turning off the hot water heater early to doing piecemeal assembly at home for extra money, writer-director Hsiao Ya Chuan fills the film with slice-of-life details drawn from his own memories and experiences growing up. These simple nostalgic details easily resonate with local audiences, painting a picture of the bygone times and universal trials that shaped the Old Fox and the young fox.