Synopsis

In a dystopian near-future, government program Plan 75 gently coerces senior citizens to be euthanized to relieve the social and economic burdens of an aging population. When 78-year-old widow Michi (Chieko Baishō) loses her job as a hotel maid, her prospects for a secure future vanish, and she considers the Plan as her only viable option. Plan 75 salesman Hiromu (Hayato Isomura) is unwavering in his belief in the benefits of the program, until it becomes personal. And Maria (Stephanie Arianne) accepts an unsavory job with Plan 75 in order to send money back to the Philippines, where her daughter awaits a life-saving operation. The paths of these three lonely souls intersect as they confront the crushing callousness of a world ready to dispose of those no longer deemed useful. On the surface, a tyranny of bureaucratic kindness pervades every waking moment, as the ancient practice of obasute (abandoning the elderly), enshrined in Japanese myth, casts a long shadow over the future in this uncanny, powerfully understated, and chilling vision.

Synopsis

In this inventive mashup of low-budget ’80s Filipino action thrillers, retired screenwriter Leonor spends her time absent-mindedly puttering around her house. Reminiscing about her glory days, she dusts off an old screenplay—a story of bloody, brotherly revenge—in hopes that she might submit it to a local competition. After she is struck by a falling television and knocked into a coma, Leonor is transported into the world of her unfinished script. Trapped inside her own creation, she embarks on a free-wheeling odyssey to finish the film while still unconscious. Director Martika Ramirez Escobar lends a light touch to the surreal proceedings as her offbeat tale oscillates between old-fashioned shoot-’em-ups and tender, human drama. The result is both a love letter to Filipino action cinema and a winning, metatextual reflection on the creative process and mortality.

This film is part of a double feature screening with The One-Armed Executioner.