ILO ILO is a breath of fresh air in the complex, exciting world of Asian cinema. I hadn't seen any films before dealing with Singaporean society so I was looking forward to watching this one and I wasn't disappointed. ILO ILO is a beautifully shot, beautifully acted family drama and I find it hard to believe that the director was only in his 20s when he made this. What a talent! The story is a small-scale one designed to highlight the melting pot of cultures and identities that co-exist in the city state. The main character is a Filipino maid who comes to look after the spoilt son of a Chinese family living in Singapore. Initially the boy hates her, but gradually the maid becomes a part of the family. However, the recession blighting the country during the late 1990s is a cloud that looms on the horizon.ILO ILO is very good at putting across a sense of time and place and I particularly enjoyed the backdrop of financial difficulty in which job loss, quiet desperation, and even suicide are themes. What keeps you watching though are the expertly-drawn characters who are brought to life through sparse dialogue. The maid is a thoroughly sympathetic protagonist, but the real delight is child actor Jia Ler Koh; I really appreciate films where you initially hate a character but end up loving them and that's the case here. I'm not a huge fan of art-house cinema but this is a film I can recommend to all.

This flyweight Singaporean film is the surprising winner of Golden Horse Award in 2013, snatches 4 awards including BEST FILM honor from its stiff competitors, Johnny To's DRUG WAR (2012), Zhangke Jia's A TOUCH OF SIN (2013), Ming-liang Tsai's STRAY DOGS (2013) and the front-runner Kar Wai Wong's THE GRANDMASTER (2013, 8/10). First-timer director Anthony Chen wins BEST NEW DIRECTOR and ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY, while Yann Yann Yeo stands out in BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS race. Under the curtains of Asian financial crisis in the mid-90s, Anthony's first feature closely examines an ordinary Singaporean nuclear family's happenings when a new Philippine maid Terry (Bayani) is arranged to help out with the chores and take care of the 10-year-old brat Jialer (Koh) as his mother Hwee Leng (Yeo) is pregnant with a second child and is swamped by her daily office work, whereas the father Teck (Chen), a salesman, is on the brink of losing his job due to the unhealthy market. The film's mandarin title can be literally translated as "when parents are not at home", so audience may assume that the major chunk of the story would involve the interaction between Jailer and Terry, a spoiled schoolboy and a wide-eyed interloper, surely it is what happens, their narrative arc is too predictable yet Anthony's camera unassumingly records the changeover with poise and impartiality, Jiale is an really imp, not only in school, his initial hostility towards Terry will understandably thaw when they spend more time together to understand each other during the absence of the parents, since Terry takes on the duty of a caregiver whom Jiale is desperately in need of.Meanwhile, Hwee Leng and Teck loom large in the storyline too, the former suffers from the angst due to the budding affinity between Jialer and Terry (her worst nightmare is to be supplanted by an outsider for the maternal bond with her child), also is victimized in a faith- boosting racket, and repeatedly inculcates herself with the empty slogan "Hope is within myself" to sustain her belief in the troubled water. The ambivalence of her psychology is impeccably conducted by Yeo, who is overflowing with compelling nuances and tenable craft, the same can be said to Tian Wen Chen, a veteran actor (personally I watched many TV series starring him during my childhood), showcases his most authentic emotion under the helm of Anthony's astute perspicacity as the father who conceals his misery with disguised front of dignity required for the man of the family. The film is also an excellent example of leaving out the unnecessary verbal communications and balances the contents with exchanges of eye-contact or the tacit silence, which is not a easy task to accomplish, but here, it is a marvel to behold (e.g. the maid Vs. hostess scenario is perpetually piquant under various contexts). Anthony Chen injects tons of human touch into the quotidian storyline (the strand in the cemetery vignette for example), enriches each character with the inescapable pressure from surviving, even for Jailer, he has to pay for his misbehavior and accepts the unavoidable separation in a hard way.Overall, ILO ILO is exceedingly levelheaded and structurally faultless for a neophyte, its attentive intimacy toward the common lives reminisces of Ann Hui's top-notch THE WAY WE ARE (2008, 9/10), Anthony Chen is no wonder a name worthy noticing for his future projects and on his way to bring more glory to his itty-bitty motherland.

Poignant, funny and heartbreaking, Anthony Chen's feature debut in ILO ILO is a true gem of a Singaporean drama.Winners of this year's Camera d'Or award (an award for best first feature film) at the prestigious 2013 Cannes Film Festival as well as the recent Taiwan's Golden Horse Award (which nabbed four awards including Best Film and Best New Director), this low-budget Singaporean drama ILO ILO is truly a remarkable feat for a first-time feature director Anthony Chen.WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?Set in Singapore during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, ILO ILO revolves around 10-year-old Singaporean boy, Jiale (Koh Jia Ler) and the newly-hired Filipino maid, Terry (Angeli Bavani) who at first doesn't see eye-to-eye against each other. But their relationship gradually improves when the resilient Terry manages to earn affection and respect from the hardheaded Jiale. Meanwhile, Jiale's parent -- pregnant mother Hwee Leng (Yeo Yann Yann) and recently jobless father Teck (Chen Tianwen) -- are struggling to deal with their own family and financial matter.THE GOOD STUFFPrior to ILO ILO, Anthony Chen has already crafted his name in the world of short films with critically acclaimed efforts such as AH MA and HAZE. In ILO ILO, Chen proves to be a gifted filmmaker who knows well how to tell a great story. In fact, he actually inspired the movie from his own personal experience when he grew up in 1990s Singapore with a Filipino maid and a family suffering from financial woes. Chen's direction is meticulous to details where everything here is presented in a uniquely Singaporean manner. Among some of the themes that everyone (at least for Singaporeans) can relate to, is the kiasu (literally means "fear of losing") attitude of a typical middle-class Singaporean family when dealing their domestic or personal problems, as well as Chen's hilarious perspective on how people usually react when comes to buying lottery numbers. Production values are suitably top notch, especially for Benoit Soler's down-to-earth cinematography which perfectly evokes the sense of time and place of the 1997 Singapore.The cast here are just as noteworthy, with newcomer Koh Jia Ler impresses a lot as the troublemaker Jiale. Despite this is only his first acting debut, Koh Jia Ler proves to be a gifted actor who definitely has bright future ahead. Angeli Bayani is tour de force as the Filipino maid Terry, while her chemistry with Jia Ler is genuinely heartfelt. Malaysian actress Yeo Yann Yann (who recently won Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Horse Award) is pitch-perfect as a typical Singaporean working-class woman, while Singaporean theater and TV veteran Chen Tianwen shows amazing range of top-class acting in his first big screen debut as the family's breadwinner who faces uncertainty in life after losing his job.MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT(S)There are plenty that I wanted to include here, but among them are the funny scene where Jiale tries to escape punishment from his discipline teacher by offering him a lottery tip and of course, the bittersweet finale between Jiale and Terry.THE BAD STUFFNone available.FINAL WORDSNo doubt ILO ILO is well deserved for all the accolades it has received thus far. This is certainly one of the must-watch movies of the year.

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.