Ilo Ilo (2013)

'Ilo Ilo' is a raw drama set in recession hit Singapore as one family feels the pressure and increased strain as they are hit hard by the economic crisis. The film centers around the relationship between Jiale, the son, and the family's maid, Terry, who is tasked with looking after Jiale.The storyline is a very simple but very real one, following the family through their struggles during challenging economic times. There's no music, no special effects, no fake drama, just a real, raw story with an excellent script and strong performances. It's not for everyone, but it you enjoy stripped back, simple films, then I would recommend Illo Illo.

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.

A film from Singapore that looks deeply into family relationships may not be what we expect, but Anthony Chen's screenplay and direction bring this sensitive little story alive. The time is 1997 (during the Asian Financial Crisis) in Singapore. Jaile Lim is a young boy whose strained home life affects his behavior patterns at school and at play. His parents are overworked and do not cope with Jiale's problems well, and with another baby on the way they hire live in maid and nanny Teresa, a Filipino girl searching for a better life. The friendship between the maid Teresa and young boy Jiale at first causes the mother's jealousy, while the Asian recession hits the region: the bond between Jaile and Teresa actually weakens the strained relationship within the family unit until Teresa manages to calm Jaile's temperament and the result is a an extended family, one that no longer is family and maid. What begins as a strange relationship between a young boy, lonely as his parents are busy making money to support their family, and a maid, who left her young boy to her sister in another country to come to Singapore for earning, becomes a permutation of a true family.The cinematography by Benoit Soler heightens the drama. The acting is high quality – Yann Yan Yeo as the mother, Tianwen Chen, the father, Angeli Bayani as Teresa and Jailer Koh as Jaile. The film is in Mandarin, Tagalog, and Hokkien with English subtitles.

As it turned out, this is Anthony's labour of love, and the tremendous attention to detail was simply amazing, though not perfect (but what is?), with its art direction to immerse the viewer into knowing we're in the mid 90s without the need for an obvious marker until mid way. Electronic devices such as the Tamagochi game which was quite the rage in its time, ubiquitous pagers, and Sony's walkman all serve to remind us of a time where we got by without feeling the need to be online all the time. And from these little gadgets, come the darting of one's eyes to a lot more clues of time, from costuming right down to wide angled shots where I just had to find something out of place, but rarely did (I admit I nodded when a wide shot of a school hall had the correct President and First Lady picture hung up, something which could have been easily overlooked, amongst other things such as the model used for a police car).But it is economical filmmaking in a sense, yet big in ambition to tell a story that can, and has proved, to resonate with audiences around the world. Most of the scenes take place in family HDB apartment, or the school, and any other outdoor shots were meticulously scouted and could have made the Old Places team proud, especially when we're modernizing our landscapes at a frightening pace. And the cinematography exploits tight spaces in lieu of avoiding getting something out of place into the frame, yet through its technical constraints came an intimate portrait through tight shots and intricate framing.What I really liked about the film is how effortlessly the narrative flowed, without the director feeling the urge to be verbose about everything, preferring set ups to be resolved naturally at a later stage, with the film taking its time to evolve rather than pushing its pace to a rush, reining in any attempt to be overly ambitious in trying to cover everything, catalyzed from the introduction of a stranger into a family's life. And on top of that, giving each character crafted their strong, personal story arcs whose challenges one can surely feel for since they touch raw nerves from an unforgettable 90s era.The Singapore Dreaming connection cannot be stronger than with Yeo Yann Yann's presence playing a pregnant mom in a family drama. One of the actresses at the top of her craft plying her trade on both sides of the Causeway, it is needless to say her sheer acting prowess shone through a role that required her to respond to threats, where her character had to witness the erosion of her bond with her son who slowly but surely begin to forge a stronger one with their family maid. And if that's not challenging the actress enough, her role also deals with the albatross of retrenchment starkly happening in the local small and medium enterprise her motherly character works for, and finding belief through self-help materials.I've never thought much about Chen Tianwen as an actor since his television days, but it's a testament to the director's ability to elicit the best performance possible from his cast, and it's indeed a revelation that this actor could act, if given the right role, and having his ability coaxed right out of him. While the character had to disappear for a bit toward the last act, his Mr Lim stood for how the typical father would under dire circumstances, speaking little, and digging deep from within to weather the storm, picking up any job to tide through tough times. If you, like me before who is unconvinced by Chen Tianwen's acting abilities, you're in for a huge and pleasant surprise.Fans of Lav Diaz's films would be no stranger to Angeli Bayani, who plays Teresa/Terry the maid, and nailed her role through and through as the dutiful servant with a mind of her own, standing up for herself from the onset when bullied. Leaving her family and young son behind, the character echoes many of those under similar circumstances, having to come to our island to look after someone else's kid instead, while at the same time bearing witness to the secrets each household owns. And rounding up the principle cast members is Koh Jia Ler as the young kid of the Lim family Jiale, a rascal of a kid, spoilt in a sense, and being the bane of Teresa at the start. Ilo Ilo has their story arcs central to everything else happening around them, and the chemistry between these two performers was one of the highlights of the movie, as we journey through their changes in attitudes that gave way to mutual respect, and love. Probably the child actor at the moment, having to co-shoulder the weight of the film on his shoulders as the unlikely antagonist who jump starts situations.Anthony Chen has thrown the gauntlet down for local filmmakers to raise their own bars in filmmaking, leading the charge of the next generation of filmmakers who have their unique vision and stories to tell. It's rare in our filmmaking community to find storytellers who straddle between art house and commercial films, but Ilo Ilo shows that a combination of both is possible. So while the film continues to make waves overseas, and prestigious, international awards aside, there's nothing but true testament for any filmmaker, than for audiences in the home country to respond to the film in a show of support through a ticket. And it's not blind promotion - Ilo Ilo is the best local film to hit our shores this year, and perhaps in recent years, that it deserves as wide an audience as it can get from Singapore. You'll laugh, cry and will invariably be moved. A definite recommend!