Ended on 7/6/2005
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MAGNIFICO -
(unrated)
2003 - Philippines - Tagalog (with English subtitles) - 123 minutes - Asian Cinevision
Directed by: Maryo J. de los Reyes
Featuring: Jiro Manio, Lorna Tolentino, Albert Martinez, Gloria Romero, Isabella De Leon, Danilo Barrios
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showtimes and tickets
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 The winner of the Crystal Bear Award for Best Feature Film at the Kinderfilmfest of the 2004 Berlin Film Festival is a heartwarming fable about the redemptive power of selfless gestures. In a poor village outside of Manila, nine-year-old Magnifico does his best to bring joy to his family despite difficult circumstances. His sister is handicapped, his brother just dropped out of college, his parents struggle to make ends meet, and his grandmother thinks the end is near. But Magnifico remains optimistic. He secretly prepares for his grandmother's death by tailoring a dress for her and building and painting a beautiful coffin. He takes his sister to a street festival, which pleases her so much that she actually speaks for the first time. Time and again, Magnifico's kindly actions help his loved ones rise above the squalid conditions in which they live – until an unexpected tragedy changes everything. – Tribeca Film Festival 2004
“De los Reyes's fluid compositions, dead-on pacing, and knack for eliciting naturalistic performances make the story uncommonly cathartic."
– Village Voice
“A modest but engaging Filipino tear-jerker."
– New York Times
“Director Maryo J. De los Reyes and writer Mitchiko Yamamoto shamelessly press viewers' emotional buttons. But the film is so well-made and the performances so accomplished that it doesn't matter.”
– New York Post
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