CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

GazerRise Fantastic!

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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.

Thaneevuth Jankrajang This film is wonderful. Any honest self-confession is precious as life itself. Coming from Thailand, I can say that Singapore is always an odd man out in ASEAN or Southeast Asia. Have always been and will be. From Lee Kuan Yew's early viewpoints, our region is never good enough for Singapore. Singapore is thus created to be a political and economic maze. A multi-layered onion. Being Asian but not so Asian-like. Trading with asians but placing themselves superior. Worshiping money and worldly successes while disregarding regional cultures and traditions. This film is about an inner soul wanting to connect with a higher spirit, no matter how humble the outer. A ten-year-old Singaporean boy must deal with his deep bond with a Filipino maid, as well as his parents' aloof love, just to lose her at the end. He grabbed a portion of hair he cut off from her, while looking down at the floor, not daring enough to face the Singaporean truth. The director is an honest man, telling an honest story. But, at the very end, only a portion of hair remains in the hand, just like Singapore getting only glimpses of being an ASEAN. I just wish them good luck.

arif-ashraf-opu Nobody around us owns the title of a relationship, whatever the relationship between children and parents, romantic partners, siblings and whatsoever. Ilo Ilo depicts a strange relationship between a young boy,lonely as his parents are busy making money and support family, and a maid, also left her young boy to her sister to another country and come to Singapore for earning. Boy shows as a naughty one, but keep in mind, no one comes this world with "evil" heart. Less of care and loneliness bought those stuffs inside him.Most striking stuffs was that LUCK has it's own way to treat people. The boy found the pattern for lucky number to won the ticket, which only works for his school teacher, but not for him when he was badly needing that money.You don't have to make relationship by force or by any precedent connections. It builds through "love",goes by "love", ends for "love". Nothing else may exit for time being, but surely not persist.

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.