Ilo Ilo (Chinese) (Tagalog) (Singapore)

Now this is what I call a truly international movie.  It is shot in the Little Red Dot (Singapore if you weren’t aware of this name).  It has a cast that has a Singaporean actor to begin with – Tian Wen Chen.  It casts a Malaysian actress – Yann Yann Yeo – as his wife.  And then it adds in a Filipino maid for good measure.  Who should that be played by? Of course a Filipino actress.  Therefore Angeli Bayani is cast for the role.

First time director Anthony Chen turns 30 this year and what does he have to show for it? A Camera d’Or – awarded to the best debut director at Cannes every year.  And he was 28 when he received this.  In doing so, he joined the likes of Steve McQueen (2008 – Hunger), Benh Zeitlin (2012 – Beasts of Southern Wild) and of course our very own Mira Nair (1988 – Salaam Bombay!).

Jiale (Koh Jia Ler) is all of 10 years old – in terms of age.  But he can run a riot single handedly.  To say that he is a handful would be an understatement.  He drives pretty much everyone around him crazy.  Leading the pack would be his mother, followed by his teachers and then his father who is struggling to keep his sales job in place – times aren’t too easy in 1997.

After a lot of thought and struggle to make ends meet, Hwee Leng (Yann Yann Yeo) and Teck (Tian Wen Chen) – Jiale’s parents, take the call of hiring a maid.  For those in Singapore, hiring maids from Philippines is common place.  In comes Teresa (Angeli Bayani) who needs the money desperately.  She quickly realizes that with Jiale is not the easiest of projects to handle.

Chen evaluates the relationship between all the members of the cast at several points in the movie.  The one between Teresa and Teck, which is superbly captured when he finds him smoking in the corridor and doesn’t squeal on despite being put in a corner.  The shades of grey in the manner Hwee Leng treats Teresa – from being nice to her at times to rude to at times jealous.  And it would be of course incomplete if the marriage wasn’t touched upon from time to time through the 99 minutes.

But at the core of the movie is the relationship between Teresa and little (notice the sarcasm) Jiale.  Chen deep dives into the manner which Jiale makes Teresa tear her hair apart but slowly gets her bearings in the right place.  He peels into the relationship between the child and his nanny layer by layer with a consistency that shows you why he got his hands on the coveted trophy.

But what Chen could have done with is a bit of editing and increase in pace.  There were times when the movie went a bit too slow for my comfort.  Barring that, the only other question in my mind was – what does Ilo Ilo actually mean? The only indication close to the movie I could find is that it is a province in Philippines.  For further clarification, you would need to contact Chen himself.  7 on 10.  Good watch.

Watch the trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISovsVvX8Bg