Mercenaire

I was very satisfied with the list of the films of this in year in Love&Anarchy (Rakkauta ja Anarkiaa), the Helsinki international film festival. In this article I will talk about one of the films I was very touched by: Mercenary (Mercenaire), screened at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Initially, I chose this movie because I read it was about Rugby, a sport to me very close. I went to watch the movie on the 17th September, in Korjaamo Cinema, with the Director Sasha Wolff, as a special guest of the evening. However, I was somewhat disappointed not seeing that many people. Sasha, before the screening, introduced the movie ironically with these words "This film is made for people who don't give a s"t about rugby". In fact, the main character is the young boy Soane (Toki Pilioko) who loves to play rugby. He lives in Noumèa, a small village in New Caledonia. Through the exhortation of an Islander Abrahm, he has an offer from him to play in a team in France, with the promise to earn a good salary (the 10% goes to Abraham). However, the family is not agreeing. When he reached the European country, the coach of the team doesn't accept him because he is too skinny. Unfortunately, the father of Soane, before his departure, banished from the family so the protagonist is without a job, without house and without parents. Luckily, thanks to a contact that he had, he got accepted by a minor team and he found a job. From that moment, he starts his new life in Europe. As the director specified, the movie pays less attention to the rugby and the main character is the boy, his relationship with the world and with his traditions. During the interview, the director told us how he chose the actors in the Pacific Islands (Soane comes from France). No one of them was a professional actor. The casting was placed in different moments and different contexts, for instance he met and he hanged out with the indigenous of the island. Sasha spent around 6 months in the New Caledonian to learn their traditions. A film that I absolutely recommend to watch. You will know another culture and reality very far away from our ethics (many players from Pacific Islands are used in France in the rugby world). Personally, I was very touched about how rugby is seen in France. I grew up in Italy, a state where the real sport market is in football. One reason why I like rugby is that I always found a friendly and family atmosphere. In this film, I discovered a new face of this sport, quite dramatic and sad. Gloria De Felice

I wrote this review in my magazine (Also in Italian) : http://www.nur.fi

I really liked this movie and would recommend it to anyone. I particularly liked the photography and acting. It was very authentic, its less about Rugby and more about being true to your values. Toki Pilioko does a fine acting job in the lead role. The singing and cultural traditions displayed are interesting. Director,Sacha Wolff shows much insight into the the Wallis Island polynesian culture. There is a behind the scenes revealing look at professional sports and the realities experienced by new players. This film also touches on family conflicts and coming of age challenges. My congratulations to the director Sacha and the film crew and cast on a job well done. Special thanks to Netflix for picking up this film and adding it to their list of feature films.

Ian

The film by Sacha Wolff is a welcome story of a man from French territory New Caledonia going to France to fulfill his rugby dreams. I am skeptical about how well New Caledonia and the family relations and culture there are represented, and I honestly need a little more information to really have a final say about that. However, lead Toki Pilioko is a real talent. He carries the film firmly on his shoulders and is a great actor. The colors and lighting are also beautiful in this film. I'm glad this is not one of those overdone tales of a single person of color amidst a crowd of white foreigners, and also that this film doesn't take the also overdone tragic ending.

Actually watched all the way through, but there were a ton of plot holes that made me scratch my head. Soane is sent to France by Abraham because he thinks he could be a big rugby star, but the deal is that he gets 10% of his salary. He gets to France but is told by the team rep/talent recruiter that he's too small and tries to send him back. Abraham yells at him and orders him back home and says he will have to pay, which is bogus because he unwisely sent someone the team didn't want, wasting his money and their time. Soane decides otherwise and stays and we discover Soane is a hot commodity now? What, okkkk...

I felt like the film was a good watch, great cinematography and storytelling, but man, the plot holes were just nuts. Also, some scenes were bewildering, like the dad who didn't want his son to...go overseas, make a lot of money and send it back? Wut? Also, Abraham is at the family's home in Noumea and looks out at a gorgeous bay/inlet, whatever and basically calls it a dump when there's probalby all sorts of people in Australia, Europe or North America, China, that would pay a fortune for a property with that view, lol.

Leave your common sense at the door when watching this and it's a better movie. That's all.

I use a title for my comment in a sort of tribute to Lee Tamahori's best picture : ONCE WERE WARRIORS which has nothing to do with this movie story, except the tale of characters, natives from Southern Hemisphere, men connected with the Haka philosophy and spirituality. But I admit that both films have nothing in common concerning the topics. Nothing at all. And characters have nothing in common about their behaviour with women in particular, although they are both warriors, who would have been perfect in the All Black New Zealand rugby team. That said, this film I comment now is a powerful and so poignant feature that made me weep at several moments. The female lead looks very like Lea Seydoux, the face not the body, too chubby. Yes, that's the kind of film which can attract much audience even with no media support. I highly recommend it.