X
- 2014
- Not Rated
- Film Movement
- 1 h 39 m
- 2014
- Not Rated
- Film Movement
- 1 h 39 m
Summary Set in Singapore during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Ilo Ilo chronicles the day-to-day drama of the Lim family - troublesome grade-schooler Jiale and his overstressed parents, Heck and Leng. Comfortably middleclass and with another baby on the way, they hire Teresa, a Filipino immigrant, as a live-in maid and nanny. An outsider in bo...
Directed By: Anthony Chen
Written By: Anthony Chen
- 2014
- Not Rated
- Film Movement
- 1 h 39 m
- 2014
- Not Rated
- Film Movement
- 1 h 39 m
Ilo Ilo
85
7.7
Where to Watch
Summary Set in Singapore during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Ilo Ilo chronicles the day-to-day drama of the Lim family - troublesome grade-schooler Jiale and his overstressed parents, Heck and Leng. Comfortably middleclass and with another baby on the way, they hire Teresa, a Filipino immigrant, as a live-in maid and nanny. An outsider in bo...
Directed By: Anthony Chen
Written By: Anthony Chen
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
85
92% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
8% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
85
92% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
8% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Ilo Ilo is writer-director Anthony Chen's first film, but breathtaking intimacy in storytelling is already second nature to him.
With evocative performances, especially from the two women, and a nicely modulated sense of nostalgia, Ilo Ilo marks the emergence of a promising new cinematic voice.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 User Ratings
7.7
82% Positive
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
11% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
7% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 User Ratings
7.7
82% Positive
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
11% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
7% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
"Ilo Ilo" is truly remarkable for the way it leads you right up to an intersection where you think a movie cliche is coming, but then turns in a different direction. It also lets you experience the characters in a way that's similar to how you might actually get to know them ... encountering feelings of hesitation, distrust, a dispassionate response, eventually an empathy of sorts. And that's true for each one: mother, father, the Filipino maid, even the bratty son. I felt a lot of tension while watching -- partly because I related so strongly with the stress of life during an economic downturn -- and I really, really wish I knew what happened to these people.
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A great, understated film, natural in every way: in its writing, its acting, its lighting, its camerawork. An organic family drama that flows loosely from one anecdotal stop to the next, perhaps what is Ilo Ilo's best quality is how each small drama feels both incredibly detailed and specific but also broadly relatable as well. Small gestures and glances inform this coming-of-age story with rich nuance; while the friendship between nanny Terry and 10-year old Jianle takes center stage, elements of class struggle, cultural differences, the secrets between husbands and wives, religion, are all espoused in extraordinarily fair ways. There are no villains here, only downtrodden, frustrated individuals, all deserving, all engendering our sympathy.
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As their early fights give way to growing respect, it’s a beautifully calibrated relationship, with small moments gradually building into something much bigger. A gem.
Anthony Chen is remarkably astute in his depiction of the class and racial tensions within such a household, his accessible style enabling the characters’ underlying decency and warmth to emerge unforced.
None of this is pushed into comic relief—the filmmaker lets his drama play out with gentleness — and you smile at the many evolutions.
Finely acted and minutely observed, Ilo Ilo certainly has the texture of real life. The performances feel authentic, the emotional shadings agreeably nuanced.
Throughout, each of Ilo Ilo's performers give wonderfully naturalistic turns, providing the entire film with a heartening authenticity.
This flyweight Singaporean film is the surprising winner of Golden Horse Award in 2013, snatches 4 awards including BEST FILM honour 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 frontrunner 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.
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This film didn't entirely appeal to me. I had (perhaps wrongly) thought/hoped it would be an uplifting film about a maid who strikes a friendship with the seemingly dysfunctional 'challenged' young son. Its quite a sad film in terms of showing the clear strains the family have and I couldn't see much in the way of particular themes or messages this film brings across, until the very end. It was somewhat touching, what happens right at the very end but for the most part this film is rather bleak in tone and doesn't have a whole lot going for it, although the acting is decent and perhaps it is a little insightful, it was just a bit bleak and without much of a solid, gripping plotline, I didn't think it was too good overall. All in all, its ok but no more really.
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Production Company
Singapore Film Commission,
Ngee Ann Polytechnic,
Fisheye Pictures
Release Date Apr 4, 2014
Duration 1 h 39 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Awards
Golden Horse Film Festival
• 5 Wins & 7 Nominations
Chinese Film Media Awards
• 2 Wins & 6 Nominations
Asia-Pacific Film Festival
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
