ILO ILO (爸妈不在家) DVD (2013)




SYNOPSIS: Set in Singapore, ILO ILO chronicles the relationship between the Lim family and their newly arrived maid, Teresa. Like many other Filipino women, she has come to this city in search of a better life. Her presence in the family worsens their already strained relationship. Jiale, the young and troublesome son, starts to form a unique bond with Teresa, who soon becomes an unspoken part of the family. But this is 1997 and the Asian Financial Crisis is beginning to be felt in the region…

MOVIE REVIEW:

When Anthony Chen mentioned in one of his interviews ILO ILO is a little film with a big heart. I couldn’t agree with him more.  

Just in case you missed the news while mediating in some mountainous region or simply not proud to be a Singaporean to acknowledge the fact, ILO ILO happens to be the first local movie to win the prestigious Camera D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.   

This wonderful heartland drama chronicles the tale of Teresa or Terry (Angeli Bayani), as she is known in the film, a Filipino who came to Singapore to work for the Lim Family as their domestic helper. A typical Singapore family setup, Mr Lim Keng Teck (Chen Tianwen) works as a struggling salesman while his wife Hwee Leng, (Yeo Yann Yann) is a clerk at a shipping company and they have a troubled young son Jia Ler (newcomer Koh Jia Ler).

It’s impressive to see Chen crafts such a heartening vivid tale that plays so close to the hearts of Singaporeans given it’s his first feature film. Partly inspired by his own growing up years with a domestic helper, ILO ILO packs so much material into a compact 99 minutes running time that the film easily puts the current crop of Mediacorp dramas to shame.

I’m pretty sure a lot of blue collar workers suffered during the 1997 economic crisis. People liked Mr Lim who neither has a degree nor speak proper English suffered the brute of it despite years of working experience he possessed. Mrs Lim on the other hand has to juggle job stress, the constant troubles her son got himself to in school and the jealously she faced when she realized Jia Ler is forming a close bond with Terry. Bits and pieces of the lives of the middle-class are faithfully reflected in the narrative.     

In addition, director Chen gives a sympathetic side of the maids who mostly left their hometown in search of better prospects to provide for their own family. It’s also Chen’s acute sense of humour in his script that helps detailed the convincingly portrayed bond between Terry and Jia Ler especially the latter’s sometimes sharp and offensive retorts.

Performances from the four cast members are top-notch. D.P. Benoit Soler provides a remarkable 90’s look with some scenes taking place in rather period locations filled with authentic props such as a payphone and a Tamagotchi toy.

Definitely an accessible drama, ILO ILO touches the heart and soul and rightfully deserved the high accolades. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 20 minutes Making of mainly covers interviews with the director and cast members at the Cannes Festival.

There are 4 minutes of highlights of the Singapore Gala Premiere plus another 4 minutes of highlights of the Press Conference held at the Art Science Museum.  

A Festival Trailer is attached as well.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Visual and Audio is respectable for the little film. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee



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 ABOUT THE MOVIE

Genre: Drama
Starring: Yeo Yann Yann, Chen Tian Wen, Angeli Bayani, Koh Jia Ler, Peter Wee, Jo Kukathas, Naomi Toh, Delwin Neo
Director: Anthony Chen
Rating: PG13 (Brief Coarse Language)
Year Made: 2013

 SPECIAL FEATURES

- The Making of ILO ILO
- Gala & Press Conference Highlights
- Festival Trailer

 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Languages: Mandarin, English, Tagalog, Ilonggo
Subtitles: English/Chinese
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
Running Time: 1 hr 39 mins
Region Code: 3
Distributor: Scorpio East Entertainment