Mayday 2021

As Ana navigates the mundane rhythms of her life at the hotel alongside her friends Dimitri (DJ extraordinaire) and Max (culinary mastermind), she finds solace in comforting new bride Marsha, who’s grappling with cold feet. But behind the scenes, Ana herself is subjected to the cruel whims of the tyrannical head waiter. When a storm knocks out the power, Ana’s world is turned upside down. She stumbles upon an enigmatic voice whispering “mayday” in a modified NATO Phonetic alphabet, which leads her on a surreal journey into the unknown.

After tumbling into the ocean from an unlikely source - an oven no less! - Ana emerges onto an unfamiliar shore, where she encounters Marsha, now radiating a newfound sense of confidence. But as they take their first steps together, it becomes clear that something is amiss: Marsha’s memories are shrouded in mystery, and Ana herself finds herself with a sudden case of amnesia.

As the unlikely duo ventures further into this mystical land, they’re met by a World War Two aviator who crashes onto the shore, painting a dire picture of war raging on. But before he meets his untimely demise at the hands of unknown assailants, he imparts upon them the existence of a utopia where women can live unfettered from male oppression.

As Ana becomes inducted into this all-female society, she’s introduced to Gert and Bea, two other girls who call the beached submarine their home. Marsha shares her vision of a world where women are waging war against their male counterparts, with various camps scattered across the island fighting for survival.

Ana proves herself a natural marksman as she learns to wield a rifle alongside her new comrades-in-arms. When the trio ventures out to enjoy some aquatic fun, Ana finds herself hesitant to take the leap of faith and join in - only to be brutally attacked by the head waiter, now masquerading as a soldier. Her escape is nothing short of miraculous.

As Marsha takes Ana under her wing, teaching her how to navigate the stars through her telescope, Ana begins to find her place within this extraordinary world. But when she’s drawn into the group’s sinister plan to lure men to their deaths via fake distress signals, Ana finds herself torn between her duty and a growing sense of unease.

In the midst of this turmoil, Ana becomes plagued by recurring visions of driving a car through a tunnel - a haunting dream that threatens to upend her newfound sense of purpose. Will she find a way to reconcile her dual identities as warrior and individual? The journey has only just begun for Ana in this strange and wondrous world.

As Ana sat alone in the control room, the radio crackled to life, delivering a distress call that pierced the silence. Her curiosity piqued, she answered the call, initiating a conversation with a stranger whose voice was laced with desperation. He spoke of being stranded just off the shore, his vessel beset by electrical woes, and Ana’s empathetic nature compelled her to offer assistance. Though he cautioned that his submarine couldn’t surface due to the malfunction, he promised to return for her once the issue was resolved.

Meanwhile, Marsha’s keen intuition sensed deception in Ana’s words, and she confronted her about the suspicious radio transmission. Ana’s guilt-ridden expression betrayed her true intentions, but she remained tight-lipped, unable to reveal the truth.

The girls’ idyllic tranquility was shattered when they stumbled upon Bea being forcibly coerced into digging her own grave. Ana hesitated at the precipice of chaos, but ultimately felt compelled to take drastic action, dispatching the aggressors with precision and saving her friend from certain doom.

As tensions simmered just below the surface, Gert confronted Marsha about Bea’s ill-fated solo excursion into the forest. Marsha revealed that she had, in fact, sent Bea on the perilous journey, aware that Ana’s heart was no longer invested in their collective cause. Now, however, Bea’s presence had reignited Ana’s passion and conviction.

Ana ventured out on patrol, only to encounter a photographer and his entourage. Prepared to eliminate the perceived threat, she instead found herself beset by a hail of bombs, which sent her reeling. As she struggled to regain consciousness, a surreal sequence unfolded: she stumbled into a lush meadow, where a troupe of soldiers morphed into dancers, performing an otherworldly ballet. Though Ana’s perception was clouded, the reality was far more sinister – she had, in fact, dispatched the enemy with ruthless efficiency.

Back in the control room, Marsha’s simmering resentment boiled over as she clashed with Ana, their disagreement punctuated by a physical scuffle. The confrontation culminated in a brutal admission: Ana had shed her self-destructive tendencies and now unleashed her wrath upon others.

During subsequent patrols, Ana’s trigger finger became increasingly itchy, as she dispatched enemy soldiers scaling the cliffs with calculated precision. Marsha’s frustration grew as she struggled to maintain control over the group, exacerbated by Bea’s distress during an air raid. As the chaos intensified, Ana continued to assert her dominance, dispatching any perceived threats that crossed her path.

One fateful day, while on patrol, Ana stumbled upon a forlorn chef, Max, peeling potatoes in the desolate wasteland. His poignant tale of being lost resonated deeply with Ana, who confessed to sharing his sense of disorientation. They shared a moment of quiet companionship, bonding over their shared desire for a war-free existence. As they sipped their drink together, Max proposed that they collectively strive for a future where conflict was a distant memory. Enveloped in the warmth of their camaraderie, Ana’s weariness gave way to exhaustion, and she drifted off to sleep against his knee.

In the realm of her dreams, Ana once again found herself hurtling through a tunnel, but this time, the tantalizing glow of hope beckoned from the far end.

As Ana’s eyes flutter open, she finds herself cradled in Marsha’s lap, their initial tenderness swiftly devolving into a heated argument. The venomous words exchanged leave Ana seething, her anger boiling over as she brands Marsha a monster. The emotional fallout lingers, but it’s not long before Ana turns to Gert, sharing her desperation to escape the island and its suffocating constraints. Gert’s empathetic ear proves a balm to Ana’s troubled soul, and together they concoct a plan for her departure.

Meanwhile, an eerie radio transmission pierces the air, the dying words of Demitri (his voice now familiar to Ana) apologizing for his inability to return and rescue her. The somber tone is punctuated by wry humor, as he quips about his perpetual bad luck with women. Ana’s response - “I’m not that kind of girl” - echoes a conversation from the film’s opening moments. As she processes this revelation, the floodgates of memory open, and everything comes rushing back.

Gert’s words of wisdom now take on new significance as Ana confides in June, the erstwhile mechanic. June’s stark warning - that Ana’s departure would be akin to a star dying, with everything around it imploding into oblivion - is a sobering reminder of the stakes. Yet, June also imparts a crucial piece of information: precise calculations will be essential for navigating the treacherous storm.

Ana returns to the submarine, her resolve wavering as she confronts Gert and Bea. Initially, she’s decided against leaving, but Gert reveals that they’ve been aware of the outcome all along and still urge Ana to take a chance. When Ana asks them to accompany her, they’re adamant - their paths lie elsewhere. Instead, they encourage her to use her newfound knowledge to protect other girls from suffering a similar fate.

As Ana grapples with this new reality, Gert, Bea, June, and the island’s various camps converge to formulate a plan. Utilizing the radio as a lifeline, they track the storms and devise a strategy for guiding Ana back through the tempestuous waters to the point where her journey began. With the collective might of the island’s women behind her, Ana embarks on a perilous yet potentially liberating quest.

As it becomes apparent that Ana’s confidants have unwittingly shared their deepest secrets with Marsha, who has been eavesdropping on their conversations via radio broadcasts, a sense of betrayal washes over her. Confronting Ana, Marsha expresses incredulity at the notion that after investing so heavily in Ana’s heroic transformation, she would now abandon it all for a mundane life in the kitchen. Ana counters by suggesting that Marsha has unwittingly enabled her descent into psychopathy, prompting Marsha to retort that their parallel trajectories are, in fact, intertwined. This poignant exchange is punctuated by Marsha’s ominous warning: that in the darkness ahead, Ana will find solace in the celestial beauty of the stars.

In a somber moment of introspection, Ana confides in Bea about her reluctance to depart, only for Bea to reassure her that she will precede her into the unknown. With Bea’s sudden disappearance, Ana is left grappling with the impending reality of their departure. As June, Gert, and Bea finalize the perimeters of their operation, they impart a solemn sense of urgency upon Ana: it is time to proceed.

From the control room, Ana watches in rapt attention as she plunges into the turbulent sea, driven by an unyielding determination to reach the storm’s epicenter. However, her resolve is tested when she becomes ensnared in a treacherous rip current, loses consciousness, and begins to drown. Marsha’s soothing voice crackles over the radio, reciting the same mantra that Ana had heard in her dream; this mystical phrase serves as an anchor, allowing Ana to regain buoyancy and find her way to Demitri, who is eerily suspended above the waves.

As the credits roll, Ana strides into the banquet hall where Dimitri holds court behind the turntables. With a resolute glint in her eye, she approaches the microphone, poised to unleash her vocal prowess upon the awaiting audience.