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.

The stocky Wallisian build is ideal for the position of prop forward (they form a minority community in New Caledonia). When the first choice of sports talent scout Abraham (Laurent Pakihivatau) is arrested he plucks Soane (Toki Pilioko) off the field and offers him a position on a French mainland team. Unlike in most sports dramas, Soane doesn't seem driven to turn pro. This unexpected opportunity would take him a world away from the tropical vistas of his low-key island home. Soane is tempted but says his father, Léoné (Petelo Sealeu, riveting), will object.Léoné, a tough buzzard who keeps his rifle handy, objects alright. When Soane announces that he's leaving anyway, fierce disciplinarian dad gives him a vicious, scarifying, whipping with an electrical cord, holds a religious ceremony and farewell feast, then declares his son dead and chases him off his property.When Soane arrives in France, the local rugby team official takes one look, deems him too short and 20 kilos too light and advises Soane to fly right back where he came from. That's not an option.

I was so impressed with this movie. I originally wanted to watch it because it was about rugby and particularly rugby players from the south pacific. I was not disappointed. It is a poignant look at how these young men are recruited and used in Europe but of course it centers around the story of one young man in particular, his traditions, his family and his ultimate tragic salvation. I cannot wait to see more of Toki Pilioko - I hope he will be in future films as well. He created a compelling and charismatic persona in his lead role. I enjoyed the performance of Iliana Zabeth and look forward to seeing some of her other films. I was blown away by the talent of not only Mr Pilioko but by the other non professional actors such as Mikade Tuugahala, Laurent Pakihivatau and Petelo Sealeu - I hope I remembered to spell their names correctly. they were amazing - I highly recommend this film which is raw and riveting as well as sweet and touching.

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