The story in Ilo Ilo is pretty much the standard family drama type of thing – a beleaguered couple have difficulty dealing with their troublesome son, a young boy short on respect and restraint. To ease their burden and allow them to spend more time with their child, they hire a nanny, who quickly develops a transformative bond with the boy. It’s straight-forward stuff from the plot perspective, but what transforms it into something special is the remarkable depth of the characters and the power of the performances, especially that of Angela Bayani as the firm but understanding nanny. Shot with a handheld camera and devoid of music, it has a distinct documentary feel to it, which serves to increase the impact. This is a movie worth watching, again and again.

This film didn't entirely appeal to me. I had (perhaps wrongly) thought/hoped it would be an uplifting film about a maid who strikes a friendship with the seemingly dysfunctional 'challenged' young son. Its quite a sad film in terms of showing the clear strains the family have and I couldn't see much in the way of particular themes or messages this film brings across, until the very end. It was somewhat touching, what happens right at the very end but for the most part this film is rather bleak in tone and doesn't have a whole lot going for it, although the acting is decent and perhaps it is a little insightful, it was just a bit bleak and without much of a solid, gripping plotline, I didn't think it was too good overall. All in all, its ok but no more really.

watched it as it was highly rated. But I felt the movie development was blend. Didn't exactly felt like there was any climax in the movie.

"Ilo Ilo" is a humanistic and sociological portrait of a a Singaporean family, with an handful of well written and well acted characters, and the simplicity of the story will leave you all the time you need to put the focus on these flawed family in difficult economic times.

I like this movie, such a strange feeling

***UNBELIEVABLE TASTE... I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT BUTTER! ***

Ilo Ilo, the story of a Filipina maid hired to care for the spoiled child of a Singaporian family may be difficult to get through in the first moments as the child's behavior is so unpleasant, but this powerful story about a crisis-ridden family during the 1998 Asian financial crash comes though with flying colors. Ilo Ilo is the first full-length feature for Singaporian director Anthony Chen and the interview with Chen and comments from the cast in the extras on the DVD is worthwhile. Ilo Ilo is not a "localized" movie as one cast member pointed out. It is not an "Asian" film or a "Singaporian" one; it is about family life and the reality of it, the struggles, the tension, the goings on behind closed doors. Ilo Ilo is about human relations, the day-to-day existence under pressure that is common to humanity. It is about class, struggles at work and the sacrifices workers in poor countries and communities make to feed their families and their own children by looking after the children of others. One cannot help being reminded of the brutal conditions Filipino and other maids have endured working for the wealthy in Saudi Arabia and other countries although there is no such comparison here. It is somewhat autobiographical as Chen himself was raised by a maid from the age of 8 to 12 and he points out that by far, these experiences for the children of working parents are more often than not positive ones. The cast, from the maid played by a well known Filipina actor to the boy and the parents, are real people living their lives as so many families do. The scene with the maid washing the young boy in the shower and the interplay between them, I am not sure they would have been the same if Ilo Ilo was an American made movie. We are known to blurr butt cracks here in the US, even of 10 year olds. This is a wonderful, powerful film that will not be contained by borders, nationality, language or other social obstructions. It is however in Mandarin and Tagalog so the viewer is faced with subtitles which will unfortunately, along with limited circulation as there's not enough explosions and violence in it, mean millions of Americans will never see this film. If we want to "Make America Great Again" it might help if Americans watched more movies like Ilo Ilo.

/B/ Interesting slice of life from a different culture.

I REALLY wanted to like it, but the kid was SUCH A BRAT!!

a pretty realistic rendition of life in singapore for those in tough times (both the hosts and foreign worker). this movie downplays melodrama and leaves most issues understated, to leave it for the viewer to ponder.

A true reflection of a typical family with maid. Their true life and struggle with family and children and make a living.

Ilo Ilo is a movie from Singapore which see's a families problems combined with a new maid for the family caught in the mess but also trying her best to be good at her new job. Throughout this movie we see glimpse of true emotion, the kind that only a real life situation can bring out in people, this does feel a little too real as if they forgot to make it a movie sometimes but all in all it is sweet and the end I feel finishes off nicely and in a way that suits it best. Anthony Chen kicks off his career in feature films writing and directing this and shows some promise, sure it's the kind of promise you may only see at international film festivals(if you don't live in Singapore that is) but I think his crafting of this movie is alright, not top notch but I appreciate it slightly. The film can feel like award fodder at some moments if not the whole thing and as I said before feels too real, movies are not meant to be so much like real life that it just feels like a camera following everyday events like cleaning the house, Chen does well to shift that feeling away but the film can still feel kind of too dull at times. I wasn't so keen as well on the camera's, a lot of shaky cam that although makes it feel slightly more real makes the scene just not work for me. Koh Jia Ler portrays the instantly unlikeable child Jiale whose insufferable misdemeanour's makes him very annoying to not only watch but even when at times when he is not messing around, you still don't like his character. Yeo Yann Yann as the mother of Jiale is OK and although her character can also be at times very annoying, she manages to do it in a way which carries Chen's message that she is strong but also at times can be very weak minded and easily offended. I found if any slight part of this movie provides comedy relief then Chen Tian Wen as Jiale's father is kind of funny, I mean this is by no means a comedy but he makes some scenes kind of odd in a fun way. Terry is the maid and really the star of this movie, through her eyes we see what she goes through and she is treat rather basically but she does not care, Jiale is not behaving well but you just know she has it in her to finally control him and get him to shut up. If you want a deep meaning and interesting story this is nearly that, it seeks to make you feel something for the people involved but ends up not really doing that, although Angeli Bayani who plays Terry tries hard. I'm not saying Chen has made a bad piece here, I can see why this won awards and although I don't know if I would agree with them, this certainly contains moments which I know for some could be very meaningful and reflect not only the culture of family life in Singapore, but also what family is and what it means to us all worldwide as well.

Social drama that doesn't attempt to do too much with its depiction of a struggling family and their new maid. It's a very sincere drama that handles its emotional scenes very well.

An insight into the coarseness of family life in Singapore which cleverly becomes a story of social interdependence.

Uma série entediante de clichês que vão se seguindo um ao outro, em um filme superficial, e que, não poderia mesmo ser diferente, culminam em um final-clichê. 99 minutos do meu domingo que eu nunca terei de volta.

After watching Ilo Ilo I truly regret not watching it in the cinemas and showing my support for a locally made film. This is definitely the best Singaporean Film made period. Its even more amazing that this is Anthony Chen's Directorial Debut and he has written the film as well. The movie is extremely well directed and I would have never guessed that its his first film. There are some well crafted scene transitions that elevates the tension or showcases irony that shows the brilliance of the director. The performances were excellent throughout especially from Koh Jia Ler as the rebellious Kid and Angeli Bayani who plays the caring maid. While the plot isn't anything revolutionary I really loved the way it was handled and the recreation of the 90s period felt really authentic. There were elements of nostalgia for me personally as there was a scene in a bookshop I used to visit as a child which further added to the film. My only flaw with the film is that one of the scenes did feel overly dramatic and took me out of the film for a minute. Other than that this is a solid film full of heart and portrays a slice of the Singaporean Life. A-

What was the message? One of the most boring movies ever!

This flyweight Singaporean film is the surprising winner of Golden Horse Award in 2013, snatches 4 awards including BEST FILM honour from its stiff competitors, Johnny To's DRUG WAR (2012), Zhangke Jia's A TOUCH OF SIN (2013), Ming-liang Tsai's STRAY DOGS (2013) and the frontrunner Kar Wai Wong's THE GRANDMASTER (2013, 8/10). First-timer director Anthony Chen wins BEST NEW DIRECTOR and ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY, while Yann Yann Yeo stands out in BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS race. keep reading my review on my blog: http://wp.me/p1eXom-1MV

It got good... Then it stopped. Many of the things they focused on in this movie were undeveloped. As much as I wanted things to end well for Terry, things kinda ended up falling flat. This movie had so much potential and could have focused on other things. Like the abusive conditions OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) face in other countries. Especially the maids; there are stories of them getting abused, beaten, raped, and trapped and their master's house. Masters are sometimes overzealous and when I saw her taking Terry's passport as a protective measure, I thought this movie might reveal some authenticity and shine light on this issue. Not bad overall, just fell flat.

A movie that feels very realistic. A modern Singapore family facing problems that are very similar to what families face in western countries. You care about each main character,Sometimes good people do bad things. This movie is as much about the family as it is about Terry''the maid' (we only learn a little about her life back in the Philippines), but her presence, her humility and inner strength quietly permeate these people's lives. At the end of the film, the family's economic future is on a very slippery slope. But they have each other. They are rich. Even though none of them is perfect. A nice glimpse of life in Singapore.