Mercenary (2016 film)

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Mercenary
Mercenary 2016 poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Sacha Wolff
Written bySacha Wolff
Starring Toki Pilioko
Distributed by Ad Vitam [1]
Release dates
  • 18 May 2016 (2016-05-18)(Cannes)
  • 5 October 2016 (2016-10-05)(France)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Budget$83,000 [1]

Mercenary (French : Mercenaire) is a 2016 French drama film directed by Sacha Wolff. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival [2] [3] where it won the Europa Cinemas Label Award. [4] A young man from the French oversea collectivity of New Caledonia in the South Pacific plays rugby in France.

Contents

Plot

Soane, a young rugby player, member of the Wallisian community of New Caledonia, defies the authority of his violent father, based outside Nouméa, to go play in France. He was recruited by an intermediary, Abraham, who exploits the emigration of Pacific island players to France by taking ten percent of their salaries. Unfortunately his arrival goes badly and he does not get a hoped-for player contract. Rejected by his father, he cannot return to New Caledonia and is threatened by Abraham who demands reimbursement of his expenses. On his own at the other end of the world, his odyssey leads him to become a man in a world that does not offer uncompromising support and success.

Cast

This low-budget film used real life rugby players for its major roles.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Mercenary". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  2. "Fortnight 2016: The 48th Directors' Fortnight Selection". Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  3. Nancy Tartaglione (19 April 2016). "Cannes: Directors' Fortnight 2016 Lineup – Laura Poitras' 'Risk', Pablo Larrain's 'Neruda', Paul Schrader's 'Dog Eat Dog'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  4. Patrick Frater (20 May 2016). "Cannes: 'Wolf & Sheep' Rounds up Directors' Fortnight Prize". Variety. Retrieved 20 May 2016.