MERCENARY

Soane is a hulking young Pacific Islander from French New Caledonia. There’s no money in this island paradise and not much of a future. But Soane is a rugby player, and a devilish local agent named Abraham persuades him to leave home to play in a provincial club in France. This prospect is enough for Soane’s father to beat him savagely, while his little brother begs him not to go. But leave he must, and Soane becomes a mercenary, sold with other foreigners to battle for wages. Exchanging the lovely aquatic blues of his home for the drab concrete grays of suburban Europe, Soane, a French citizen, is a fish out of water. The club’s manager uses Mafioso tactics—strong-arming the team, feeding them pills, and withholding pay. Soane falls in love with another underdog, an unhappily promiscuous cashier. As he struggles onward, he must decide just how many hits he’s willing to take. Toki Pilioko, the wonderful nonprofessional actor who plays Soane, was discovered in a small French rugby club. MERCENARY features an excellent script and splendid camerawork. (In French and Wallisian with subtitles) —B.B.