Paul Magne Haakonsen As a big fan of Asian cinema, then I did of course jump at the chance to get to see this movie when the chance presented itself.When I sat down to watch "Ilo Ilo", I only knew that it was a Singaporean movie about a Filipina domestic helper working in Singapore. Little did I know that this was essentially the entire movie in all of its mundane glory.This movie was boring, let's just be bluntly frank about it. There was very, very little happening throughout the course of the entire movie.It should be said that the acting was actually quite adequate, and that was what carried the movie actually to some degree.I was sitting throughout the entire movie anxiously waiting for the movie to pick up pace and the storyline become something at least just the tiniest bit interesting. But that never happened! This movie just trotted on in a very monotonous pace, and there was little of any interest throughout the entire movie.This is definitely not a movie that you will watch more than once, provided you sit through it the first time around.

sgali-51589 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

gradyharp 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.

ronchow I can't recall when was the last time I saw a film from Singapore, a country known for trade and finance but definitely not its film industry. So for all intents and purposes this is my first exposure to a Singaporean film.For the first 10 minutes I didn't quite know what I was into, but as the film progressed I began to catch the gist of it - a low-budget, family drama around person-to-person connections. That fact that the back-drop was the financial crisis in the 90's is not important. The story can happen now with a small change to the back-drop.Acting was good by all. The story was well told. It is a film with no 'villains' as such, but a good drama around a middle-class family in Singapore. 'Ilo Ilo' reaffirms my faith in low-budget, low-visibility, independent films that can be high in quality.I am just glad to have stumbled onto a DVD copy of it. Well done!