February 6, 2022
After being estranged for many years, a middle-aged Lucia (Teresa Loyzaga) came back to her family home with her three adopted little boys. Her old mother Amelia (Gina Pareno) was already suffering from dementia, and kept on calling for Luisa even if she was standing there right in front of her. When a trusted farmhand Abel passed away suddenly one day, his adopted son Abner (Ron Macapagal) began to ask questions about the mother he never met.
The rest of the story was told in flashbacks to Lucia's childhood, when she was obsessed with looking for fireflies. She repeatedly requested her mother to tell her the legend of how these interesting flying insects came to be. There was a boy named Darcel, the son of her father Alberto's business partner Domeng, with whom she shared a close friendship growing up. However, the paths of the two people apparently did not wind up together.
As the story went back and forth in time, each of the central characters were played by more than one actor. There were four actresses playing the role of Lucia (Loyzaga, Patricia Cadawas, Jenica Mae Mores, and Hasna Wahood) three actors playing the role of Darcel (Ron Macapagal in a second role, Rob Torres, and Jaden Pambuan), two actors playing Lucia's father Alberto (Lito Capino and James Lomahan) and two actresses playing Lucia's mother Amelia (Pareno and Gladys Bernardo Reyes).
Teresa Loyzaga is already a veteran actress so it was no surprise that she was able to portray her conflicted character very well. The scene of Lucia grappling with her mother's dementia was a highlight for her, and of course Pareno could do this scene blindfolded. Newcomer Ron Macapagal tried his best here playing two distinct roles, but his limited acting experience was still apparent. The big dramatic moment between Loyzaga and Macapagal felt weaker than expected, can't help feeling that it could have been better written and executed.
The film ran for a compact one hour and 10 minutes, and that was just enough for director Romm Burlat to tell his full story. Despite being a short feature film, there were still a few scenes that did not feel entirely necessary, like the odd inclusion of a distracting scene featuring the special guest appearance of Diego Loyzaga as an unidentified farmhand. For the clarity of the scenes shot in darkness, the cinematography by Marvin Gabas (who also co-wrote the script with Paola Villena) deserved commendation. 7/10.
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