In the distant future, farming has been outlawed in the Philippines, and growing plants has become an illegal activity. The city was enclosed in a bio-dome keeping out the toxic atmosphere of the harsh world around it. All the seedbanks had been sent to different to "off-worlds" to propagate. Filipinos still leave their families to work in these "off-worlds" as OFW, the acronym now meaning Outerspace Filipino Workers.
Prof. Diwata Encarnacion is a leading authority on sustainable terraforming, or the technology of transforming inhospitable soil into a fertile soil capable of growing plants. Her husband Leo had been working "off-world" in a mining planet for several years, and she brought up her son Joaquin practically as a single mom. She lived with her elderly father, who was a retired plant scientist whose seedbanks were all confiscated by the government.
One day, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Aguirre, solicited her help to identify certain mutant seed obtained from the possession of Agent G, who was recently attacked and killed by farmer rebels ouside the dome. Accompanied by Agent K and Agent D, Diwata was able to venture outside the dome to investigate about these mutant seeds, but at the same time, she was also on the lookout for her sister Esper who had been missing for a long time. But the all-female Roses of War rebels did not allow to get far.
I first saw Ina Feleo in an indie film "Endo" (Jade Castro, 2007) where she played a fresh-faced young salesgirl. Here she was all mature and credible as a university professor and scientist of the future. She showed off her sexy side whenever she made a video call with her OFW husband Leo (played by a bored-looking Karl Medina), since the technology at that time allowed tactile sensation via a cable connected to each other's bodies. As you can see in the poster, she also got to do some action in her red leather outfit.
Her ailing father was played by Dido dela Paz, who was still as feisty in his own cranky way about the government's interference with his seedbanks. Mr. Aguirre was played with forced aloofness by Epy Quizon. Diwata's bodyguard Agent K was played by Kiko Matos, portraying the character in a less aggressive way than other roles he is known for. Agent G's partner Agent D was played by Mon Confiado, with an attitude as badass as the long scar on his face over his left eye. Elora Espano played Esper as a mysterious amazon warrior.
Despite their obviously limited budget, I have to commend writer-director Keith Sicat and his team for boldly going for a sci-fi film. I saw some Hollywood references in the dystopic costumes and makeup (from "Mad Max Fury Road") and the terraforming setup and rust-tinted bleak external shots (from "The Martian.") Those advanced tricks they did with their computers looked really fancy good. While the lab with cheap-looking aluminum-foil wall paper and entangled wires was a disappointment, there was that cool flying spacecraft that looked like a giant housefly -- wow! Hopefully this first step would lead to more sophisticated live-action Pinoy sci-fi in the future. 6/10.
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