While ‘Firefly’ plays out like a quintessential MMFF movie – it is family-friendly, idealistic, optimistic, and full of heart and tenderness – it never leans too hard into its sentimentality and grounds itself with strong performances, especially by Alessandra De Rossi, Epy Quizon, and Dingdong Dantes. The film showcases impressive CGI animation and a touching story about the powerful bond between a mother and her child and how this relationship seeps into the people around them and creates something beautiful out of something dark and tragic.

The movie begins with a journalist, played by Max Collins, who is interviewing a children’s book author and artist, Anthony “Tonton” Alvaro, played by Dingdong Dantes. The journalist is suspicious, even unnecessarily accusatory, about the origins and the authenticity of Anthony Alvaro’s authorship of his bestselling book. Dantes plays it cool, unaffected. There’s a story here that he seems interested to tell. This opening exchange is the only misfire in the whole movie – the journalist’s aggressive approach feels out of place, under-developed (why is she so sure he stole the work from someone else) while Alvaro feels secure and sure about the ownership, he is neither threatened nor offended – but what it does is it leads us into the story of Alvaro and his mother and a beautiful little modern fairy tale that takes us from Manila to Bicol.

The bulk of the story revolves around the past, as told to the journalist by Anthony Alvaro. The younger Tonton (with a strong performance by Euwenn Mikaell) lives in Tondo with his single mother, Elay (a fantastic Alessandra De Rossi) and while he is bullied by his classmates, his world is also filled with a lot of love from his mom and his aunt, Tita Linda (Cherry Pie Picache). Much of their bond is expressed by the stories that Elay narrates to her child that comes to life in vivid CGI animated moments that depict a magical world parallel to our own.

What is wonderful about director Zig Dulay’s approach to this film is that it puts the focus on the magic and the wonder of this story. He captures the beauty of the seaside landscape of Tondo and while we know this family unit belongs to the underprivileged, he never presents it as dramatic poverty. There is dignity in these characters, in all the characters of this film, regardless of their individual backstory or dark history. Screenwriter Angeli Atienza infuses so much heart in the screenplay that it never veers towards the maudlin or the dramatic.

The push and the momentum of the story is based on that of tragedy but the film revels in the beauty of hope and dreams and wishes. The foundation of the film is loss but what propels the story forward is love. As the younger Tonton takes a trip to his mother’s hometown to fulfill a promise, he meets three people on the way to help him in his journey – Epy Quizon’s Mang Louie, a man with a dark past who understands the ways of the world; Billy, played by Miguel Tanfelix, who is a young man who is suspicious about everything; and the street-smart and clever Erika, played by Ysabel Ortega – and the four create an unlikely group who help perpetuate the film’s presentation of the importance of a community.

‘Firefly’ is not without its dangers and its dark side. The group is not instantaneously formed – there are collisions amongst the personalities within – and the same mystical wolf that threatens the stories Elay shares with Tonton has managed to manifest itself in the journey as it chases after Tonton but this creates a space for the characters to grow and for revelations to spring forth from.

While Mikaell has the unenviable task of carrying this movie on his little shoulders, which he does effectively, what creates the most powerful emotional punches are those from Epy Quizon’s very naturalistic portrayal of a man who just wants to go home but is also duty-bound to do the right thing and he plays that tension with great precision and Dingdong Dantes, who has to narrate this whole story with conviction and authenticity. There’s a sparkle in his eyes as he serves as a chapter break for the narrative and it is filled with longing and experience and even joy. The world and the narrative are made real by his performance. It’s quite revelatory.

But the actor who really makes the film fly is Alessandra De Rossi. She fills the screen with this beating, tender heart that really pushes this story forward. Even when she’s not on screen, her presence is felt, and it permeates throughout the entire narrative. She is the push and the pull of the film and it’s an amazing quality of an actress who can do this.

Full of heart and hope and love, ‘Firefly’ is the perfect MMFF movie for the family.

My Rating:

Firefly is showing in cinemas on December 25. Check screening times and buy tickets here.