Movie review: ‘Ilo Ilo’ is a story of hearts and minds

In a time when depictions of the trials and tribulations faced by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are very much a part of our cinematic zeitgeist, to label the local release of Singapore’s Cannes Camera d’Or-winning film “Ilo Ilo” as timely would be something of an understatement.

Indeed, if 2013 were to merely go down as the year that saw three countries produce three very different, eminently watchable films on the Philippines (with our very own Hannah Espia’s debut feature, “Transit”, and Sean Ellis of the UK’s “Metro Manila” being the other two), that would have been one thing. But to have all three countries put those films forward as contenders for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film? That’s a different ball game altogether, and one that not even the most whimsical of cinema insiders could have seen coming.

Set at the onset of the 1997 Asian economic crisis, “Ilo Ilo” is a fictionalized account of director Anthony Chen’s experiences growing up with a Filipina nanny. The story centers around the Tan family, consisting of father Teck (Chen Tia Wen), a veteran glass salesman, mother Hwee Leng (Yann Yann Yeo), an office worker, and their son, Jia Le (first-time actor Koh Jia Ler), a boy whose proclivity for mischief has landed him in academic and disciplinary hot water far too often. Out of desperation, the Tans hire Teresa (Angeli Bayani) – Terry, for short – from the Philippines to be an all-around maid in the hopes that she will be able to keep their son out of trouble while helping out with the housework.

Clad in hand-me-downs and a minimum of makeup, Bayani gives a likably sympathetic turn as Terry. Wide-eyed and initially wary of the alien nation she finds herself in, she proves her chops – to the audience and to Jia Le – in the many sequences where her character learns to juggle her culture shock with showing her young charge she won’t put up with his petulance, eventually winning his respect in the process.

As Jia Le, Koh proves surprisingly effective at providing an obstinate foil to Terry, whom he sees as an interloper in his family’s life. Whether he’s doing his best to drive his new nanny up the wall or indulging in his hobby of collecting lottery results, the young performer never outstays his welcome, providing just the right amount of impishness and stubbornness that the role calls for.

Make no mistake; fictionalized though “Ilo Ilo” may be, this is no glossed-over, sugarcoated feel-good tale. Chen handles his sequences with a subtle, naturalistic touch, trusting the viewer to follow the characters and their situations with nary a sign of the melodramatic drivel, handholding or spoon-feeding far too many Asian dramas are notorious for.

Furthermore, free of the ostensibly patriotic rhetoric that Filipino politicians tend to spout whenever they try and tell their constituents that the export of their countrymen for menial labor is a good thing, we are able to feel for Teresa in a way that doesn’t make the viewer feel like he’s listening to a party line.

While the refreshingly honest take on the OFW side of the equation would be enough of a feat in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, Chen’s bigger achievement here is the fact that he is able to, at the same time, present an unflinching view of middle class life in the Lion City without resorting to the sort of sledgehammer commentary favored by the likes of Jack Neo (“Money No Enough”).

Nowhere is this more apparent than the arc of Teck, which sees the proud patriarch forced to take a position as a security guard when he loses his job. Whether he is stubbornly refusing Teresa’s offer to help wash his uniform or sneaking a smoke in the apartment stairwell, we learn more about him and his family’s situation than we would through any number of monologues about surviving in a society where status and appearances are a way of life.

As mother Hwee Weng, Yann Yan Yeo is the glue that holds the story together, radiating wounded dignity in scenes dealing with her own possible unemployment, a slick self-help guru, or growing jealousy over her son’s growing friendship with Terry; one never doubts for a second why she was able to score a Best Supporting Actress Golden Horse for her portrayal.

Ironically, where the film falls short somewhat is explaining the derivation of its title. While made much by media in recent weeks of the fact that director Chen’s real-life nanny hailed from the province, we are never actually given a reason onscreen for the film to be titled as such.

Minor quibbles aside, “Ilo Ilo” works for the simple reason that it successfully distills complex familial and societal issues into a straightforward, often funny, narrative without losing any of their significance, making for an overall emotional experience that rarely feels manufactured or contrived. That being said, Anthony Chen’s is a career that this writer will definitely be following with great interest.

While it remains to be seen what long-term effects having the cinematic spotlight shown on our country will have on the local industry, it’s a safe bet that January 16’s formal announcement of Oscar nominations just became a whole hell of a lot more interesting.

Shot entirely in Singapore, “Ilo Ilo" uses dialogue that is a lively mixture of English, Singlish, Mandarin and Ilonggo, with English subtitles. — BM/KG, GMA News

Mikhail Lecaros is a professional magazine editor and freelance writer. The views expressed in this article are solely his own.