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Winner of the Camera d’Or for best debut feature at Cannes 2013, Anthony Chen’s film is set in Singapore, 1997, during a financial crisis in Asia which saw both unemployment and suicide rates rise. This is the backdrop for a story that revolves around Jiale (Koh Jia Ler), a naughty schoolboy who has his teachers and parents on the brink of exasperation. With his mother expecting a baby and despite money being tight, Jiale’s parents decide to employ a Filipino maid, Teresa (Angeli Bayani) to help around the house. The disobedient Jiale initially bullies and riles Teresa, but when she makes it clear she won’t put up with his nonsense, an unlikely respect develops between the pair, though that has consequences for the wider family dynamic.

Ilo Ilo is charming and insightful, with themes of class, economic migrancy and parental responsibility subtly addressed within a bittersweet, touching drama. (Notes By Michael Hayden.)

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