Magnifico

Magnifico is a 2003 Filipino drama film written by Michiko Yamamoto and directed by Maryo J. de los Reyes. The film stars Jiro Manio, Lorna Tolentino, Albert Martinez, and Gloria Romero. The film was released by Violett Film Productions and it received mixed-to-positive reviews from film critics and acclaim from various international film festivals. Plot In a small town located in the province of Laguna, one special boy changes the lives of everyone he meets. Known to all as Magnifico, his nickname is Ikoy, a child of an impoverished family. His father works odd jobs, his elder brother (Miong) has lost his academic scholarship, and his mother spends her days caring for both Helen, a young daughter, who suffers from cerebral palsy, and for her husband's aging mother, who lives upstairs in the family home and has diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Magnifico is a sweet and well-intentioned boy, who is often berated by his father for his stupidity, an unkind assessment for a child who is considerably more clever than anyone gives him credit for. Magnifico's world is filled with a cast of characters in need of his special gifts of hope, determination, and love. There's the grief-stricken man who mourns for his mother; two feuding shop owners; the crabby old woman who runs the mortuary; his elder brother, who has a crush on a wealthy girl; his little sister, who wants to get out and experience the world but cannot walk; and even his own ailing grandmother, who worries that the family won't be able to afford a proper burial for her when the time comes. That's a pretty tall order for just one boy.