 |
| Teresa (Angeli Bayani) and Jiale (Koh Jia Ler) Courtesy of Film Movement |
2013, 96 minutes
Not Rated
Review by Joshua Handler
Special thanks to
Film Movement for sending me this film to view for this series.
It is a real shame that Ilo
Ilo, the Singaporean submission to the Oscars, wasn’t shortlisted for the
award because of the 15 submitted or shortlisted films I’ve seen thus far, it is one of the
best. Winner of the prestigious Camera
d’Or (Best First Feature) at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival (the award was given
to Beasts of the Southern Wild in
2012), Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo is a complex
and rich movie about the relationship between a Filipino maid, Terry (Angeli Bayani), and the
boy, Jiale (Koh Jia Ler), that she cares for. The film
is set in Singapore during the 1990s economic recession.
With Ilo Ilo,
29-year-old writer/director Anthony Chen shows remarkable talent and
promise. His actors, top to bottom, are
excellent and the storytelling skill he demonstrates shows the maturity of a
filmmaker far beyond his years. Ilo Ilo focuses on Terry and Jiale’s
relationship, but also explores that of Jiale’s parents who are hit hard by the
economic recession.
What’s so refreshing and involving about Ilo Ilo is its lack of sentimentality
and its characters. Chen depicts each
character as one way at the beginning, but as the film progresses, it is
revealed why each character is the way they are. For example, Jiale is a bratty, seemingly
malicious young child, but we find out why as his character is developed. There are many places in which the film could
have veered into cheap sentimentality, but Chen is smart enough to ground it in
realism and allow the situations to speak for themselves. The film, even without the sentimentality, is
emotionally satisfying.
As Terry, Angeli Bayani shines.
Her vibrant presence and chemistry with Koh Jia Ler, made me
care, something crucial to my movie-going (and hopefully everybody else’s
movie-going) experience. As Jiale,
Koh Jia Ler is incredible, making me care for an annoying child. He shows a wide range of emotions and was a
great find. As Jiale’s parents, the
Lims, Tia Wen Chen and Yann Yann Yeo are also very strong. In
short, Ilo Ilo is perfectly cast.
Overall, I loved Ilo
Ilo; there’s no other way for me to put it.
It is a well-scripted, acted, and directed film that was moving and very
enjoyable with a poignant conclusion -t one that would have never come out of
Hollywood. That is the beauty of many of
these non-U.S. productions – they’re frequently honest and the directors just
make the films they want. They are
allowed to put their unique, surprising visions onto the big screen without
much interference. A film like Ilo Ilo is a little gem. It is a film that, if it reaches a wide
enough audience, will be well-loved. It
has already been a success overseas, but unfortunately will likely not reach
the wide audience that it deserves simply because it is a foreign film. Ilo Ilo
is a really special film and one that I won’t soon forget.
Film Movement will be releasing Ilo Ilo in the spring.
4/4
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