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Winner of this year's Camera d'Or award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, as well as the recent Taiwan's Golden Horse Award 2013 (Best Film and Best New Director), i went in to this film with very high expectations. sad to say, it did not meet my expectations.
in fact, it's flawed in several ways.
for a start, the film could have focused alittle more on developing the emotional element between domestic helper Bayani and her young master Jia Ler. i thought the transition from Jia Ler's resistance to acceptance for this new comer to the family was way too abrupt. i didnt really feel much for the 'chemistry' between the two characters. i also didnt feel that the parents were neglecting the child, so much so that Jia Ler became a rebellious kid in school. (sidenote: the chinese title of this film is 爸妈ä¸åœ¨å®¶ literally 'Parents Not At Home', which suggests 'parents neglecting child', but i did not feel any of this throughout the film). this part on plot and emotional development was lacking in the entire film.
another flaw worth mentioning is the setting of the film - set during the 1997 financial crisis, i felt confused by some of the props used, like casette tapes and typewriters - were these still around in 1997?
that being said, the cast did a wonderful job to save the film - the acting was some of the best i have ever seen in local movies. especially acting by Angeli Bayani, her portrayal of someone new in singapore working as a domestic helper was really good.
overall, the film felt incomplete and umabitious in terms of plot and character development; the story and the relationships between characters were not explored thoroughly, and subplots and occurrences felt as if they are just passing shots in a documentary or feature film. i am not sure what won the judges' hearts in this one, perhaps its the elements of 'honesty and sincerity', and not so much on the technicalities. i rate it 3/5
in fact, it's flawed in several ways.
for a start, the film could have focused alittle more on developing the emotional element between domestic helper Bayani and her young master Jia Ler. i thought the transition from Jia Ler's resistance to acceptance for this new comer to the family was way too abrupt. i didnt really feel much for the 'chemistry' between the two characters. i also didnt feel that the parents were neglecting the child, so much so that Jia Ler became a rebellious kid in school. (sidenote: the chinese title of this film is 爸妈ä¸åœ¨å®¶ literally 'Parents Not At Home', which suggests 'parents neglecting child', but i did not feel any of this throughout the film). this part on plot and emotional development was lacking in the entire film.
another flaw worth mentioning is the setting of the film - set during the 1997 financial crisis, i felt confused by some of the props used, like casette tapes and typewriters - were these still around in 1997?
that being said, the cast did a wonderful job to save the film - the acting was some of the best i have ever seen in local movies. especially acting by Angeli Bayani, her portrayal of someone new in singapore working as a domestic helper was really good.
overall, the film felt incomplete and umabitious in terms of plot and character development; the story and the relationships between characters were not explored thoroughly, and subplots and occurrences felt as if they are just passing shots in a documentary or feature film. i am not sure what won the judges' hearts in this one, perhaps its the elements of 'honesty and sincerity', and not so much on the technicalities. i rate it 3/5
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