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Cast: Luis Fernando Pena, Leonor Varela, Jacob Vargas, Metztli Adamina, Emilio Guerrero, Tenoch Huerta, Jose Concepcion Macias
Set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences, three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the barriers of technology.
I seen the trailer for this on Maya Entertainment's web site and was instantly taken in by it so I was pretty excited when this arrived at my office for review. The story takes place in the near future, a world where there are no more workers, only robots that are controlled by those that get hooked up, the work without the workers. Also the Governments have built dams and closed off all the borders. They now charge you if you need water. Memo and his family live in a small village in Mexico, his father grows beans for a living and Memo helps out but he dreams of a better life out there for himself. One day Memo is listening in to those that are connected through his radio and his signal is intercepted by the officials in charge of protected the dams from terrorist attacks. Memo goes out for the day not thinking much of it but a Drone is set in to take out the target and Memo's father is killed. Feeling guilty, Memo decides to head into the city to see if he can get some work and help his family out. The story takes over from there when he meets a beautiful young woman on the bus ride, I am not going to give anymore of the story away here and ruin it for those wanting to see this film. Director, Alex Rivera co-wrote the screenplay about a future in which people never have to do hard labor again, it is not a pretty future like you might imagine it to be. Once connected "nodes" allow people to directly connect their brains to an Internet of sorts, "sleep dealers" construct cheap, unsafe sweatshops where noders can perform dirt-cheap labor for developed nations, without leaving home. There is a lot of food for thought going on here, that part of the film is left for the viewer to have his or her own opinion on but it is certainly a film that left me thinking long after it was over. Done on a very limited budget the film looks fantastic, the visuals are amazing and the soundtrack fits the film perfectly. The film focuses on three main characters, and how they are effected by a world that is heavily militarized, the film takes a hard look at many issues facing us as we move forward into the future like globalization and immigration. Some might think this all sounds too "Preachy" but let me tell you it is not. The visuals,acting and locations all make for an original Sci-Fi flick, how often have you heard that in the last few years? A chilling look into the future but a highly entertaining film as well. The DVD and BLU-Ray both come with Special Features that include:
Audio Commentary
"Before The Making Of" Documentary
Released by Maya Home Entertainment. **** Out Of *****