Ilo Ilo

Empire by

Not all magically benevolent nannies fly on talking umbrellas, as we learn in this beautifully formed little heart-tugger.

CineVue by Ben Nicholson

Throughout, each of Ilo Ilo's performers give wonderfully naturalistic turns, providing the entire film with a heartening authenticity.

Arizona Republic by Bill Goodykoontz

Chen captures with both humor and heartbreaking realism the complicated mechanics of the family dynamic and how outside forces work to shape it.

Village Voice by Chris Packham

Small details and incidents accrete into a pointillist rendering of despair.

Total Film by James Mottram

As their early fights give way to growing respect, it’s a beautifully calibrated relationship, with small moments gradually building into something much bigger. A gem.

Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

None of this is pushed into comic relief—the filmmaker lets his drama play out with gentleness — and you smile at the many evolutions.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

Ilo Ilo is writer-director Anthony Chen's first film, but breathtaking intimacy in storytelling is already second nature to him.

Variety by Maggie Lee

Anthony Chen is remarkably astute in his depiction of the class and racial tensions within such a household, his accessible style enabling the characters’ underlying decency and warmth to emerge unforced.

The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Dalton

Finely acted and minutely observed, Ilo Ilo certainly has the texture of real life. The performances feel authentic, the emotional shadings agreeably nuanced.

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

This remarkably terse movie doesn’t waste a word or an image. It refuses to linger over each little crisis its characters endure. And its detachment lends a perspective that widens the film’s vision of people reacting to events beyond their control.