Photo: ©TEN17P
Arisaka
A police motorcade escorts a key witness across the countryside to a government corruption trial when it’s hit by a barrage of bullets. A lone policewoman, Mariano, survives and escapes into the infamous jungle where the Bataan Death March took place under the Arisaka rifles of the invading Japanese forces. Mariano (a badass Maja Salvador) relies on her guts, stamina, combat-ready street smarts and integrity to outwit and one-up the ruthless gang on her tail, as they force her into a series of violent deathmatches. But then Mariano encounters a near-mystical indigenous child who leads her on the path to salvation. NYAFF favorite Mikhail Red (Birdshot, Neomanila) once again underlines the metaphorically rich juxtaposition of nature with a girl and a gun, destined to vindicate the evil that men do.