Ilo Ilo

Set in Singapore during that nation's 1997 financial crisis, director Anthony Chen's Ilo Ilo serves up a domestic tale in which an immigrant Filipino woman named Teresa (Angeli Bayani) starts working for a stressed, middle-class family: very pregnant Hwee Leng (Yeo Yann Yann), recently-fired sales executive Teck (Chen Tianwenn), and their incorrigible young son, Jiale (Koh Jialer), who repeatedly lands in serious trouble at school. Initially, Teresa struggles with Jiale's resentment after she moves into his room and begins to curb his independence. In time, however, the two characters make peace and even forge a bond that causes Hwee Leng to become jealous and resentful. Meanwhile, Teck takes a job that he finds humiliating even as he tries to keep up appearances with his extended family, and Teresa, who is haunted by a tragic event, finds additional work in a salon that takes advantage of her economic need. A powerful semi-comic story of one family and their nanny-maid struggling with growing financial strain, this Cannes Film Festival award-winner is highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a “making-of” featurette (23 min.), the bonus 2010 short film “Blik” by Bastiaan Schravendeel (9 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning foreign film.] (T. Keogh)