It is a film which has gone down a path no other Singapore film has gone down before, by winning an award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. It is an achievement of the highest order when the Prime Minister of Singapore had publicly commented on the win at Cannes. It is just a story of an ordinary Singaporean family and their Pilipino domestic helper in the midst of Singapore being hit by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, but it is the film which has make big in its own way.
Jia Le has always manage to find himself in trouble at school, leading to his pregnant mother Swee Leng (Yeo Yann Yann) needing to go to school to pick up the pieces for him. There is also the stoic head of the household Teck (Chen Tian Wen) who is a salesman but would find himself out of a job as the 1997 Asian financial crisis hit Singapore. He would try to become a trader, but would lose heavily on the stock market.
But before the Lims' financial problems reared its ugly head, the family would hire a domestic helper from the Philippines, Teresa (Angeli Bayani) to help out with the household chores. Aunty Terry as she would like to be known, would come to find her hands full with her employers' son. As the unlikely bond between Terry and Jia Le develop in the subtle of ways, both Teck and Swee Leng find that they also have to deal with the effects of the financial crisis in their own ways.
For any Singaporean who had lived through the 90s, one cannot help but notice the imagery from the era. The computers which was used at where Swee Leng work, the rows of HDB flats (public housing for the international audience), the presidential portraits being hung at the school hall at where Jia Le went to school, and the Tamagotchi which Jia Le is always fond of playing. While images like these are obvious on the surface, there are also the subtle ones as anyone living through 90s Singapore will be able to resonate with. This film does not use special effects to tell its story across an audience; it is as truthful as it is of a portrayal of the Singapore society of the 90s where the domestic helper is being relegated to the background.
In this film, it is as much as the story of the Lim family and Terry's, who has come to Singapore in search of a better life. Bayani's role as Terry really does make one feel at times that it is actually not an actress playing the role of a domestic helper at all, but a real domestic helper. There is also Yann Yann as the pregnant mother Swee Leng who is caught between dealing with Terry and her own family members including her husband.
Anyone expecting something fanciful in the film will be disappointed, where it is a reminder that it can be as enjoyable and heart-warming with its occasional dash of humour without the special effects. As much as it is a very Singapore story with its Singapore setting, it is a story which is able to pull the heartstrings.
Jia Le has always manage to find himself in trouble at school, leading to his pregnant mother Swee Leng (Yeo Yann Yann) needing to go to school to pick up the pieces for him. There is also the stoic head of the household Teck (Chen Tian Wen) who is a salesman but would find himself out of a job as the 1997 Asian financial crisis hit Singapore. He would try to become a trader, but would lose heavily on the stock market.
But before the Lims' financial problems reared its ugly head, the family would hire a domestic helper from the Philippines, Teresa (Angeli Bayani) to help out with the household chores. Aunty Terry as she would like to be known, would come to find her hands full with her employers' son. As the unlikely bond between Terry and Jia Le develop in the subtle of ways, both Teck and Swee Leng find that they also have to deal with the effects of the financial crisis in their own ways.
For any Singaporean who had lived through the 90s, one cannot help but notice the imagery from the era. The computers which was used at where Swee Leng work, the rows of HDB flats (public housing for the international audience), the presidential portraits being hung at the school hall at where Jia Le went to school, and the Tamagotchi which Jia Le is always fond of playing. While images like these are obvious on the surface, there are also the subtle ones as anyone living through 90s Singapore will be able to resonate with. This film does not use special effects to tell its story across an audience; it is as truthful as it is of a portrayal of the Singapore society of the 90s where the domestic helper is being relegated to the background.
In this film, it is as much as the story of the Lim family and Terry's, who has come to Singapore in search of a better life. Bayani's role as Terry really does make one feel at times that it is actually not an actress playing the role of a domestic helper at all, but a real domestic helper. There is also Yann Yann as the pregnant mother Swee Leng who is caught between dealing with Terry and her own family members including her husband.
Anyone expecting something fanciful in the film will be disappointed, where it is a reminder that it can be as enjoyable and heart-warming with its occasional dash of humour without the special effects. As much as it is a very Singapore story with its Singapore setting, it is a story which is able to pull the heartstrings.