Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

areatw '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.

caseymoviemania 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.

3xHCCH This film "Ilo Ilo" put Singapore on the map of world cinema when it won the Camera D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Finally, it is now being shown here in the country where the titular place name originates.We do not even hear the word "Ilo Ilo" mentioned during the film's 99- minute running time, though we do hear the maid Terry speak in the Ilonggo dialect of Iloilo province when she makes a long-distance phone call back home. I doubt if non-Filipinos will recognize that little linguistic detail, so they might wonder about the English title. The Mandarin title of this film is actually "Father, Mother Not At Home." This was exactly what the movie was all about.We meet a middle-class Singaporean family, the Lims, feeling the crunch of the Asian Economic Crisis during the late 1990s. The father has lost his job in sales and has to make do by accepting a more menial job. The mother is pregnant with their second child, and has a thankless clerical job, typing letters for employees about to lose their jobs. The son Jiale is a naughty little rascal who is obsessed with the lottery, his Tamagotchi and getting himself sent to the Principal's office.To help with the household chores and to take care of Jiale, the couple decide to hire a maid from the Philippines, Teresa. It was a huge challenge for Terry to get integrated into the family system and into Jiale's troubled life, but she eventually does. But as the Lims continued to experience escalating monetary woes, they need to make an important decision about Terry.This is actually a simple story of a family going through rough financial times and their relationship with their helper. We usually see this type of story from the point of view of the helper, but this time we see the employer's perspective. The actors who play Lim family are very real in their roles. Tian Wen Chen essays the down-on-his-luck father role with just the right amount of humor. Yeo Yan Yan portrays the frustrations of her character with her life, her husband AND her son very well. Her inner conflicts when she sees Jiale bonding with his Auntie Terry were eloquently reflected on her face. The child actor who plays Jiale is quite the natural in his portrayal. It was surprising to find out later that this was his first ever film role, maybe that is why it was bereft of artificiality.As for Terry, we don't really know who she was before she came here. She has several skills like cutting hair or driving, but what exactly did she do for a living before going to Singapore? We will also not know what will happen to her after her last scene. Teresa was not really the main character here but she was the important catalyst for the family's story to be more interesting. Filipina actress Angeli Bayani hits the right notes in this role, perfectly mixing her character's timidity and subservience with loyalty and dignity.Director Anthony Chen toned down everything in his treatment of this story, the script of which he himself wrote based from his own memories about his childhood and his Filipina yaya (or baby sitter). The colors were muted to a pale sepia. There were no scenes of exaggerated melodrama, no over-the-top shouting nor crying, which makes the emotions so authentic. The actors were all subdued in their acting, which makes the performances so realistic. You can feel that the intentions of the film were only modest, but the sincerity is very palpable, and that is what makes the film connect so well with its audiences. 9/10.

tharun270 Amongst the rather dry, sappy cine-scape of Singapore, Ilo Ilo sticks out like a sore thumb of talent, great acting and brilliant camera-work on the part of Anthony Chen.Nevertheless, it's a flawed film. The story is loose-hinged - which suits the atmosphere which the film is trying to create. It engages us with the enigmatic character of Terry, the maid, who stumbles her way into the Lim family only to encounter a world of foreign hostility and bizarre drama. The influences are easy to catch on. Ozu's pillow shots - Terrence Malick's bright light set-ups and atmospheric shots - Ingmar Bergman's face shots and chamber quartet direction - as well as Kurosawa. (The easiest way to note Kurosawa's influence is through Chen's use of door- shots - mainly popularized through Ikiru by Kurosawa)But Ilo Ilo picks up too much and plays too little. It explores the maid's psyche to some extent but her character nevertheless feels like it was tossed in and thrown out of a washing machine without much thought put into it. We see her come in fine - and somehow go away fine with no change whatsoever in terms of her personality and views towards her life in Singapore.Thematically it is confused. It plays with many different "dramas" at once - trying to handle the numerous strings pulled by the script - only to be let go of them halfheartedly through the film. Anthony Chen brings up the idea of smoke and alcohol addiction and subsequent marital tension - but just leaves it hanging in the air without much resolution. Furthermore he adds the concept of deceptive appearances and prejudices against the maid - but none of these blossom into completion. The theme of pregnancy is weaved into the film's script - yet the film's only reference to the gestation is the physical presence of large belly. What we get in the end is a half-film, thematically. Furthermore, plot-wise it is weak and incomplete as well. What happens to the maid's job as a hair-dresser? What does she do there? Does she simply ditch the job? What was up with the sleeping pills? What about the money she had? What of her child and the problem with the Sister she was grumbling about over the phone? What happens to Jia Le after he is caned? There are so many unresolved plot lines - only simply hidden by a conscious attention to speeding up time, thereby streaming away from the incomplete parts of the script. It seems absurdly unfinished.The characters also are weak. At her fundamentals, the Mother of the house-hold seems to have a bipolar disorder. At one point she hates the maid's presence in the house and doubts her - and yet all of a sudden cares about her and is grateful to her. The Father from time to time is upset, and temperamental - yet is gentle and calm towards his family occasionally. The characters possess uneven, odd personalities that only weaken their on-screen potency. Nevertheless, the film does boast some solid acting, pushing my rating for it up to a 6. Angeli Bayani does a tremendous job as the maid struggling to survive in Singapore - and I would like to specially acknowledge her for I believe that her performance is a master-class in indie-acting for females. Never does Bayani condescend to her role - always treating the character of the Maid with elegance and eloquent motion. "Yes ma'am, good ma'am".I am impressed - don't get me wrong. Despite the numerous flaws, Chen's sensitive direction makes the flaws forgettable and the film otherwise. So is it worth a DVD? Yes. Theatre? Perhaps - maybe not.