Not all cinematic nannies come equipped with a cheery songbook and flying parasol. In Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo, winner of the Camera d’Or for best debut feature at Cannes 2013, we are confronted with the realities of life for domestic staff in the modern world. Many nannies these days are in the desperate situation of having to leave their homes and families in order to make a meagre living, staying with a strange family in a strange land. That is not to say that Ilo Ilo is a dour film, quite the opposite. There may be no Spoonfuls of Sugar here but Chen’s film is nevertheless a delightfully moving and often funny slice of family life.
The film takes place in Singapore during their financial crisis of 1997. The middle class Lim family have so far been untouched by the downturn and with a toublesome son and another baby on the way, they decide to hire a live-in maid and nanny. They find Teresa (Angeli Bayani), a young woman displaced to Singapore from the Phillipines in order to find work to support her family back home. At first, son Jiale (Koh Jia Ler) resents the presence of Teresa and tries to make her life as difficult as possible but soon their relationship begins to improve. Meanwhile, the economy begins to bite hard at their family unit and life for all of them begins to change forever.
It’s hard to believe that Ilo Ilo is a debut feature. Chen has crafted a beautifully intimate honesty with a sense of style that is delightfully natural – the kind of low-key beauty that would take many directors years to achieve. In a way, it is also an unusual film – a family drama in which there are no villains, merely people making mistakes and struggling to do the best for those they love. The four central characters are flawed but genuine. Although Teresa seems to be the focus of the film at first, Chen expands the focus, giving equal weight to the four characters and their individual hopes and worries. The performances are beautifully pitched, naturalistic and warmly played, producing moments of both pathos and humour.
Chen’s film may be set at a particular moment in time back in the late ‘90s but it can’t help but speak to the mood of today. It comments on the desperation of hard times but also on the tough bonds of the family unit. This is a heartfelt and impressive piece of filmmaking from the new director.