Ilo Ilo is a movie from Singapore which see's a families problems combined with a new maid for the family caught in the mess but also trying her best to be good at her new job. Throughout this movie we see glimpse of true emotion, the kind that only a real life situation can bring out in people, this does feel a little too real as if they forgot to make it a movie sometimes but all in all it is sweet and the end I feel finishes off nicely and in a way that suits it best.
Anthony Chen kicks off his career in feature films writing and directing this and shows some promise, sure it's the kind of promise you may only see at international film festivals(if you don't live in Singapore that is) but I think his crafting of this movie is alright, not top notch but I appreciate it slightly. The film can feel like award fodder at some moments if not the whole thing and as I said before feels too real, movies are not meant to be so much like real life that it just feels like a camera following everyday events like cleaning the house, Chen does well to shift that feeling away but the film can still feel kind of too dull at times. I wasn't so keen as well on the camera's, a lot of shaky cam that although makes it feel slightly more real makes the scene just not work for me.
Koh Jia Ler portrays the instantly unlikeable child Jiale whose insufferable misdemeanour's makes him very annoying to not only watch but even when at times when he is not messing around, you still don't like his character. Yeo Yann Yann as the mother of Jiale is OK and although her character can also be at times very annoying, she manages to do it in a way which carries Chen's message that she is strong but also at times can be very weak minded and easily offended. I found if any slight part of this movie provides comedy relief then Chen Tian Wen as Jiale's father is kind of funny, I mean this is by no means a comedy but he makes some scenes kind of odd in a fun way. Terry is the maid and really the star of this movie, through her eyes we see what she goes through and she is treat rather basically but she does not care, Jiale is not behaving well but you just know she has it in her to finally control him and get him to shut up.
If you want a deep meaning and interesting story this is nearly that, it seeks to make you feel something for the people involved but ends up not really doing that, although Angeli Bayani who plays Terry tries hard. I'm not saying Chen has made a bad piece here, I can see why this won awards and although I don't know if I would agree with them, this certainly contains moments which I know for some could be very meaningful and reflect not only the culture of family life in Singapore, but also what family is and what it means to us all worldwide as well.
Anthony Chen kicks off his career in feature films writing and directing this and shows some promise, sure it's the kind of promise you may only see at international film festivals(if you don't live in Singapore that is) but I think his crafting of this movie is alright, not top notch but I appreciate it slightly. The film can feel like award fodder at some moments if not the whole thing and as I said before feels too real, movies are not meant to be so much like real life that it just feels like a camera following everyday events like cleaning the house, Chen does well to shift that feeling away but the film can still feel kind of too dull at times. I wasn't so keen as well on the camera's, a lot of shaky cam that although makes it feel slightly more real makes the scene just not work for me.
Koh Jia Ler portrays the instantly unlikeable child Jiale whose insufferable misdemeanour's makes him very annoying to not only watch but even when at times when he is not messing around, you still don't like his character. Yeo Yann Yann as the mother of Jiale is OK and although her character can also be at times very annoying, she manages to do it in a way which carries Chen's message that she is strong but also at times can be very weak minded and easily offended. I found if any slight part of this movie provides comedy relief then Chen Tian Wen as Jiale's father is kind of funny, I mean this is by no means a comedy but he makes some scenes kind of odd in a fun way. Terry is the maid and really the star of this movie, through her eyes we see what she goes through and she is treat rather basically but she does not care, Jiale is not behaving well but you just know she has it in her to finally control him and get him to shut up.
If you want a deep meaning and interesting story this is nearly that, it seeks to make you feel something for the people involved but ends up not really doing that, although Angeli Bayani who plays Terry tries hard. I'm not saying Chen has made a bad piece here, I can see why this won awards and although I don't know if I would agree with them, this certainly contains moments which I know for some could be very meaningful and reflect not only the culture of family life in Singapore, but also what family is and what it means to us all worldwide as well.