Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

An Exercise In Nonsense

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

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.

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.

As it turned out, this is Anthony's labour of love, and the tremendous attention to detail was simply amazing, though not perfect (but what is?), with its art direction to immerse the viewer into knowing we're in the mid 90s without the need for an obvious marker until mid way. Electronic devices such as the Tamagochi game which was quite the rage in its time, ubiquitous pagers, and Sony's walkman all serve to remind us of a time where we got by without feeling the need to be online all the time. And from these little gadgets, come the darting of one's eyes to a lot more clues of time, from costuming right down to wide angled shots where I just had to find something out of place, but rarely did (I admit I nodded when a wide shot of a school hall had the correct President and First Lady picture hung up, something which could have been easily overlooked, amongst other things such as the model used for a police car).But it is economical filmmaking in a sense, yet big in ambition to tell a story that can, and has proved, to resonate with audiences around the world. Most of the scenes take place in family HDB apartment, or the school, and any other outdoor shots were meticulously scouted and could have made the Old Places team proud, especially when we're modernizing our landscapes at a frightening pace. And the cinematography exploits tight spaces in lieu of avoiding getting something out of place into the frame, yet through its technical constraints came an intimate portrait through tight shots and intricate framing.What I really liked about the film is how effortlessly the narrative flowed, without the director feeling the urge to be verbose about everything, preferring set ups to be resolved naturally at a later stage, with the film taking its time to evolve rather than pushing its pace to a rush, reining in any attempt to be overly ambitious in trying to cover everything, catalyzed from the introduction of a stranger into a family's life. And on top of that, giving each character crafted their strong, personal story arcs whose challenges one can surely feel for since they touch raw nerves from an unforgettable 90s era.The Singapore Dreaming connection cannot be stronger than with Yeo Yann Yann's presence playing a pregnant mom in a family drama. One of the actresses at the top of her craft plying her trade on both sides of the Causeway, it is needless to say her sheer acting prowess shone through a role that required her to respond to threats, where her character had to witness the erosion of her bond with her son who slowly but surely begin to forge a stronger one with their family maid. And if that's not challenging the actress enough, her role also deals with the albatross of retrenchment starkly happening in the local small and medium enterprise her motherly character works for, and finding belief through self-help materials.I've never thought much about Chen Tianwen as an actor since his television days, but it's a testament to the director's ability to elicit the best performance possible from his cast, and it's indeed a revelation that this actor could act, if given the right role, and having his ability coaxed right out of him. While the character had to disappear for a bit toward the last act, his Mr Lim stood for how the typical father would under dire circumstances, speaking little, and digging deep from within to weather the storm, picking up any job to tide through tough times. If you, like me before who is unconvinced by Chen Tianwen's acting abilities, you're in for a huge and pleasant surprise.Fans of Lav Diaz's films would be no stranger to Angeli Bayani, who plays Teresa/Terry the maid, and nailed her role through and through as the dutiful servant with a mind of her own, standing up for herself from the onset when bullied. Leaving her family and young son behind, the character echoes many of those under similar circumstances, having to come to our island to look after someone else's kid instead, while at the same time bearing witness to the secrets each household owns. And rounding up the principle cast members is Koh Jia Ler as the young kid of the Lim family Jiale, a rascal of a kid, spoilt in a sense, and being the bane of Teresa at the start. Ilo Ilo has their story arcs central to everything else happening around them, and the chemistry between these two performers was one of the highlights of the movie, as we journey through their changes in attitudes that gave way to mutual respect, and love. Probably the child actor at the moment, having to co-shoulder the weight of the film on his shoulders as the unlikely antagonist who jump starts situations.Anthony Chen has thrown the gauntlet down for local filmmakers to raise their own bars in filmmaking, leading the charge of the next generation of filmmakers who have their unique vision and stories to tell. It's rare in our filmmaking community to find storytellers who straddle between art house and commercial films, but Ilo Ilo shows that a combination of both is possible. So while the film continues to make waves overseas, and prestigious, international awards aside, there's nothing but true testament for any filmmaker, than for audiences in the home country to respond to the film in a show of support through a ticket. And it's not blind promotion - Ilo Ilo is the best local film to hit our shores this year, and perhaps in recent years, that it deserves as wide an audience as it can get from Singapore. You'll laugh, cry and will invariably be moved. A definite recommend!

Ilo Ilo tells a deceptively simple story with a lot of care and heart.The film is roughly set in the middle of the Asian financial crisis which also affected this small island nation.It tells of a friendship which grows between a young and rebellious boy who has just lost his beloved grandfather and his maid who arrives from Philippines to help his pregnant mother with her hectic schedule. The boys father loses his job and his mother juggles the tantrums of the brat and the increasing demands of her job which she needs to retain at all cost.Ilo Ilo demonstrates that the role of a nanny and domestic servant is very special.The tightrope that both employer and employee walk in balancing "you are a paid servant" and " you are a part of the family" can be so tight and the casualties so subtle that we don't notice the injuries until much later.In a dramatic scene, the school bully teases Jialer that his maid does not actually love him, she is just doing a job for which she is paid.This infuriates Jailer who lunges at the bully in a fit of rage. The director says the film was based on his personal experiences and how he felt that its very cruel for parents to allow maids to become like surrogate mothers and suddenly sack the maid for some reason.This can be a huge emotional trauma for the child who is unable to appreciate the reasons.While the film does not indict the system of foreign domestic helpers, it frames its argument for considering the human cost involved in a gentle way.The character of Teresa reminds us that those of us who were raised by nannies owe so much to them, and we often never acknowledge the debt fully.I completely admired the performance by Yan Yan Yeo who played Jailan's mother as the slightly humorless but ultimately kind woman.She navigates the role with the responsibility that the character must have felt, with her world crumbling around her in trying circumstances. Her performance is pitch perfect and I was amazed to know that her character was not conceived as being pregnant but after she was cast she became pregnant.She managed to convince the director to rewrite the role.Angela Bayani as the diminutive maid Teresa also delivers a stellar performance in a role that requires her to be vulnerable, strong, emotional, stoic and pragmatic at different points.Her chemistry with Jialer played by a very natural Koh Jia Ler is excellent and completely believable.The beauty of this film emerges when we juxtapose its sombre sepia images with the glitz and glamour of present day Singapore.Needless to say the intimate and de-glamorized cinematography by French lensman Benoit Soler plays a big role in creating this magic.The humour is one of the strengths of the film and although I may not have understood all the jokes about growing up in Singapore, going by the reaction of the audience Mr Chen has been successful in his efforts.Yes I did go in with very high expectations and the film did not meet all of them but that should not take anything away from this sweet and intimate film.The quality of the craft is impeccable and there are no rough edges in the film which is remarkable for a debutant director.I recently saw another period Singapore film – That Girl in Pinafore, which although not as elegant as Ilo Ilo tells an equally touching and boisterous tale of a group of teens being typical teens against the backdrop in xinyao music.These are the only two Singaporean films I have seen so far, but we foreigners who live in Singapore need to discover Singaporean cinema, which offers a window into its unique culture.Anthony Chen is the new poster boy of the fledgling film industry of Singapore after winning the Camera d'or at Cannes this year.This is his first full length feature after making eight highly acclaimed short films. Ilo Ilo is certainly a glittering debut film and hopefully the first in a long and interesting career.It may be Singapore's first Cannes winner but there must have been better films which have not garnered this kind of limelight.One hopes that Ilo Ilo is a watershed moment in Singapore cinema.