With a sense of subtlety, Chen synthesizes a moving portrait of a Singaporean family that, at its intimate core, dialogues about the economic crisis and interculturality of a country in transition towards globalized prosperity. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Nov 8, 2023

For those who would prefer a more intelligent and authentic family and social drama, this is a film to not be missed.

| Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 11, 2020

Poignant, funny and heartbreaking, Anthony Chen's feature debut in "Ilo Ilo" is a true gem of a Singaporean drama.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 14, 2020

A sad window into a world economy that is still in crisis today.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 31, 2018

The dynamics are just about perfect, and calibrated for a long chain of terrific scenes...

| Oct 2, 2017

Carefully crafted and understated.

| May 3, 2016

All four of the lead actors, especially Yeo and Koh, deliver naturalistic performances of a standard that will set the benchmark for years to come.

| Original Score: 5/5 | May 3, 2016

It's diverting and entertaining, but its drama is so understated that fails to make a lasting impression.

| Original Score: 6/10 | May 3, 2016

Nobody in Jiale's extended family is happy for long but neither are they miserable. The film achieves a quietly impressive balance as human behaviour swings from serious to funny and back again.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 3, 2016

Succinct, handheld camerawork and deft performances amplify the drama's emotional clout.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 3, 2016

Ilo Ilo is an affectionate and poignant - if slight - slice of family life.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 3, 2016

Ilo Ilo deals with that perennial dilemma of the middle-class working parent: how to deal with the live-in nanny who begins to usurp your role.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 1, 2015

Perceptive and tightly built and anchored by such fully human characters.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jan 15, 2015

A gem.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 4, 2015

A low-key gentle observant family drama that resonates emotionally with intimacy.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 18, 2014

Chen builds his case not with sentimentality and obvious plot points, but through everyday life -- showering, doing laundry, dropping the boy off at school, phone calls.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 21, 2014

Thankfully never sentimental, and wisely resisting an easy, happy ending, Ilo Ilo is a surprisingly satisfying import.

Full Review | Aug 21, 2014

The midsection's a little flabby, forcing us to wait for certain plot elements to line up before the third act can begin, but on the whole this is a solid transition from shorts to feature-length storytelling.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 21, 2014

That Ilo Ilo is set 10 years before the global financial crisis gives it a small, sad, prophetic power.

| Aug 21, 2014

The crowded compositions convey a sense of life in the dense Asian city-state, but also the intimacy of this semi-autobiographical story.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 17, 2014