Soane (Toki Pilioko, in an intense performance) is a Polynesian rugby player who barely escapes a violently abusive father in his native New Caledonia, in the South Pacific, only to almost get himself killed trying to turn pro. Believing an unscrupulous recruiter, he travels to France to join a Paris team and ends up playing instead in a dreary provincial town. His past comes back to haunt him just as he’s making some headway.
First-time director Sacha Wolff’s MERCENARY was featured at the 2016 Director’s Fortnight in Cannes. Taking on the feel of a western or even samurai movie, the film is an unusual thriller that could be described as a “rags-to-riches… and-back-to-rags” story.