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MMFF 2023 review: 'Firefly'

Fred Hawson

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A scene from " src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/12/26/20231226-firefly.jpg"/><figcaption>A scene from &#x27;Firefly&#x27;</figcaption></figure></div>Tonton (Euwenn Mikaell) was a 10-year old boy who had the reputation as a coward, always running away from bullies. Through all that, his mother Elay (Alessandra De Rossi) always made things okay at the end of the day, comforting him with her encouraging words and bedtime stories. His favorite story from her was about a butterfly and a firefly who escaped to an island with a cave full of other fireflies. From a script written by Angeli Atienza, director Zig Dulay beautifully tells the story of a little boy&#x27;s quest to find the island of fireflies in his mother&#x27;s stories. Dulay used animation to execute the fantasy elements of the story, like the red-eyed wild dog of Tonton&#x27;s nightmares and the guardians he met along the way on his road-trip across Bicol -- the fairy with the green skirt, the sleeping giant who sneezed, and the stone man with a big mouth. Alessandra De Rossi is among the most hardworking actresses in local showbiz in the last decade. However, I only recall seeing her play a mother role three previous times: as the mother of an accused thief in &quot;Bambanti&quot; (2015), as the young Dionisia Pacquiao in &quot;Kid Kulafu&quot; (2015), and as an EJK widow and mother of three in &quot;Watch List&quot; (2020). Here, she played Elay elegantly, with her signature grit, restraint and internalized pain. The people Tonton met on the bus -- Mang Luis (Epy Quizon), Kuya Billy (Miguel Tanfelix) and Ate Erica (Ysabel Ortega) added their own stories of drama and comedy. Later, Tonton also met Luis&#x27;s family -- his wife Aling Carmen (Yayo Aguila) and son Romnick (Kokoy Dos Santos). When Tonton&#x27;s grand-aunt Linda (Cherrie Pie Picache) came into the picture looking for him, further adding suspense and tension into the mix. These nostalgic stories of Tonton and his adventures were bookended by present-day scenes of an author Anthony Alvaro (Dingdong Dantes) being interviewed by a reporter (Max Collins) before he was going to be awarded the National Children&#x27;s Book Prize for his book entitled &quot;Firefly.&quot; It was using this device that Alvaro told her, and us, the real story behind the whimsical and emotional story of his award-winning book.Dulay knew very well how to best stage dramatic situations in order to maximize bittersweet emotions to move viewers to tears, especially with the sensitive way he directed child actor Euwenn Mikaell, who was such a natural actor for his age. That scene with the snatcher at the ferry pier was so masterfully staged that it elicited an audible collective gasp from the audience, creating a tearful moment with major emotional impact. This review was originally published in the author&#x27;s blog, &quot;<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2023/12/mmff2023-review-of-firefly-books.html">Fred Said</a>.&quot;

Director Zig Dulay beautifully tells the story of a little boy's quest to find the island of fireflies in his mother's stories. 