One of the interesting breakouts of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival was “Mayday” from first-time feature-length filmmaker Karen Cinorre, a dreamy fairy tale of female revenge and perhaps, #MeToo going too far. The film stars Grace Van Patten, a young woman pushed around in life who is mysteriously transported to another land where she meets a group of female rebels battling against male soldiers. Co-starring Mia Goth, Soko, Havana Rose Liu, Juliette Lewis, Théodore Pellerin, and more, at first, it’s fun and games, and a lot of men being killed, seemingly for their various transgressions, but Van Patten’s character soon realizes she may not be the trained assassin they want her to be.
Here’s the official synopsis:
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An unusual storm is approaching, and it’s about to change everything for Ana (Grace Van Patten). After a short circuit at her workplace mysteriously transports her to an alternate world, she meets a crew of female soldiers caught in an endless war. Along a strange and rugged coastline, men face the stark truth lurking behind damsels who appear to be in distress. Under the leadership of Marsha (Mia Goth), Ana trains as a sharpshooter and discovers a newfound freedom in this uninhibited sisterhood. She soon senses she may not be the ruthless killer they expect, though, and time is running out for her to find a path home.
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Unafraid of pushing cinematic boundaries, writer-director Karen Cinorre blurs genres and draws us into the unique realm of her debut, where possibilities multiply and women take control of their own destinies. Both a feminist fever dream and an ambitious reimagining of a war film, MAYDAY detonates expectations to question where empowerment truly lies.
It’s a true kind of twisted, but engaging fairy tale and even moral thriller that seems to reckon obliquely with a lot of the fantasies of #MeToo, good and bad, and notions of what empowerment really means. “Mayday” is in theaters and VOD on October 1 via Magnolia Pictures. Watch the first trailer below.