Absolutely Brilliant!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

This film is about a Filipina OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) named Terry, working as a domestic helper in Singapore, and the family that she works for. Like many other OFW's, Terry is in a strange land with different customs and languages. The family and Terry communicate in English, but the movie contains the native languages of all parties involved (English subtitled). Like many OFW's Terry suffers through some indignities mostly at the hand of her employer and her son. She endures hard work and disrespect so she can send money back to family in the Philippines, especially to take care of her son that was left behind.There are so many characters in the film that I would like to discuss, each have their own quirks and make the movie interesting. Not surprisingly to me the most normal person in the film is the domestic helper Terry. I identify with her more than the wealthy (or formerly wealthy) employers or their lottery addicted delinquent son. Terry is a hard working first time OFW, trying to earn money in order to support a child back home. She endures a lot of adversity in her job, first a troublesome young ward that she takes care of, then his sometimes overbearing mom. She discovers some of the problems associated with other OFW's. Her employer asks to hold her passport (for safekeeping I'm sure) and threatens to call the police on her when she returns late from a shopping trip. She also has a problem back home that she learns about over a long distance call, but being so far away the only thing she can do is work even harder to send back more money. Her character is portrayed as smart, hard-working, and persevering.The film is another great example of the hardships and problems OFW's face while working overseas. OFW's face racism, withheld passports, financial exploitation (Terry was offered lower than advertised wages at the hair salon based on who she was), and live under the threat of police/arrest. These asymmetrical power relationships are common among OFW's and their employers (prime for exploitation). She was also made to eat outside during a large gathering of her employers' extended family (racism, class-ism). This film also presents the story from a somewhat different angle, allowing the viewer into the life of the employer family as well. The show depicts a family with more than enough resources (they can afford a maid), until the father loses his job and over a hundred thousand (dollars?) in the stock market. The son becomes a more likable character as he warms up to Terry, and even feels the loss when she is later released from her employment. Even though the employers are really not bad people, the film skillfully played with the obvious culture clash between Singapore and the Philippines. Terry is looked at funny when praying before dinner (Catholicism), and later made to participate in a Buddhist type graveside prayer with her employers. Terry also provides the son some physical disciplining (slapping him once) and also gave other guidance, an area where his parents lacked fortitude and consistency. I can't speak for Singaporeans, but I suspect Filipino parents are more strict and authoritarian.Another great film with strong and convincing actors that actually had me feeling for them in their separate situations.Hwee Sim, A., Chen, A., Hadi, W. (Producers), Chen, A. (Director). (2013) Ilo Ilo Motion Picture. Singapore: Memento Films International

Ilo Ilo is a movie from Singapore which see's a families problems combined with a new maid for the family caught in the mess but also trying her best to be good at her new job. Throughout this movie we see glimpse of true emotion, the kind that only a real life situation can bring out in people, this does feel a little too real as if they forgot to make it a movie sometimes but all in all it is sweet and the end I feel finishes off nicely and in a way that suits it best.Anthony Chen kicks off his career in feature films writing and directing this and shows some promise, sure it's the kind of promise you may only see at international film festivals(if you don't live in Singapore that is) but I think his crafting of this movie is alright, not top notch but I appreciate it slightly. The film can feel like award fodder at some moments if not the whole thing and as I said before feels too real, movies are not meant to be so much like real life that it just feels like a camera following everyday events like cleaning the house, Chen does well to shift that feeling away but the film can still feel kind of too dull at times. I wasn't so keen as well on the camera's, a lot of shaky cam that although makes it feel slightly more real makes the scene just not work for me. Koh Jia Ler portrays the instantly unlikeable child Jiale whose insufferable misdemeanour's makes him very annoying to not only watch but even when at times when he is not messing around, you still don't like his character. Yeo Yann Yann as the mother of Jiale is OK and although her character can also be at times very annoying, she manages to do it in a way which carries Chen's message that she is strong but also at times can be very weak minded and easily offended. I found if any slight part of this movie provides comedy relief then Chen Tian Wen as Jiale's father is kind of funny, I mean this is by no means a comedy but he makes some scenes kind of odd in a fun way. Terry is the maid and really the star of this movie, through her eyes we see what she goes through and she is treat rather basically but she does not care, Jiale is not behaving well but you just know she has it in her to finally control him and get him to shut up. If you want a deep meaning and interesting story this is nearly that, it seeks to make you feel something for the people involved but ends up not really doing that, although Angeli Bayani who plays Terry tries hard. I'm not saying Chen has made a bad piece here, I can see why this won awards and although I don't know if I would agree with them, this certainly contains moments which I know for some could be very meaningful and reflect not only the culture of family life in Singapore, but also what family is and what it means to us all worldwide as well.

Sincere and heartfelt, this little gem will tug at your heartstrings. This film is director Anthony Chen's debut , but it is executed with such finesse one cannot tell just by watching the film alone. A conscious lack of music allows the acting and characters to really shine--- the former never stilted or cheesy (a common problem in local Singaporean films) ; the latter very believable and connectable. From the retro kitchen tiles to the cassette tapes in Teck's old car, the movie paints a vivid picture of life in the 1990s, without explicitly stating it. The director gives the audience freedom to wander, infer and to truly feel, on their own--not just about time and setting, but also the relationships and nuanced emotions of the characters involved. The camera work also deserves praise as many shots are cleverly done and lighted. The main story is simple, like a home cooked meal. But like a home cooked meal, it is precious and close to the heart.....I found myself laughing but also really close to tears at certain parts. Growing up in 1990s Singapore, many facets of the movie resonated very strongly with me. But at its core it is a universal human story of love and longing, of growing up and painful goodbyes. The movie will creep up on you, sweep you into it, and hit hard on the emotions.

This movie captures the atmosphere of the end of the 90's in Singapore, when an economic tsunami devastated much of Asia, through the memories of a 10-year old.When Antony Chen was looking for a subject for his first feature film, he recorded an event of his childhood that he had since nearly erased from this memory: how he was heartbroken when the Filipino maid who was living with his family had to leave, following his mother's decision to stay at home to tend to the family. From there, vignettes of the past came back to him, that he sought to transcribe them in the movie in the most authentic manner possible.Antony Chen pushed that search for authenticity pretty far, as to find Ko Jia Le (the boy playing the central part), he trawled schools seeing some 2000 boys, interviewing hundreds, and inviting a hundred of them to do workshops. The result was not to take the cutest or the best-looking - something the director wanted to avoid - in fact you often feel ill at ease watching him, playing obsessively with him Tamagochi (remember those?) or making a nuisance of himself in all sorts of ways. You love him and you hate him, was the director's comment, and shooting the movie appears never to have been easy. "There were two children on the set, one in front of the camera, one behind", reminisced Chen. The embarrassment you feel watching him is a compounded by that caused by the tensions between the characters, sometimes so painful and so real that you wonder what you are doing there watching them.The period of the film is, in 2013, highly unusual: nobody to my knowledge has yet set an entire film in the 1990's. But none of the usual tricks to show the audience the period: no camera lingering on a period calendar, no newsreels announcing events identifiable with the period. Part of the time you forget about it, and get reminded by an audio cassette or an electronic typewriter.The movie is upheld by a brilliant cast of very eclectic actors. Chen Tian Wen (the father) comes from Singapore TV soap operas, Angeli Bayani is Filipino and worked in the Philippines in theater and in movies. The fact that the mother (Yann Yann Yeo), was really 6-month pregnant during the shooting, adds humanity to a character who would otherwise appear excessively domineering. The art director is French, met by Chen in the London school of cinema. Chen expressed how he had fears that being a westerner he would show a romantic view of Singapore, something like Woody Allen in Paris, which would have gone against his search for authenticity. The shooting does avoid any romanticism but remains highly interesting, occasionally tripping into a dreamlike quality at odds with the rest of the movie.In short, this is a movie like none other.