The Mohican directed by Frédéric Farrucci is a beautifully shot, deeply felt film about an ordinary goatherd who becomes a social media hero in Corsica when he defends his beliefs.
Island in the Sun
by Alexa DalbyThe Mohican
CAUTION: Here be spoilers
Another country in the throes of change from traditional to modern life? This time its the island of Corsica, where a goatherd with 120 goats, following an age-old but threatened way of life, Joseph (Alexis Manenti), owns a farm on a lucrative stretch of coast, ripe for development as a holiday destination.
The Mafia want to buy it and all his neighbours have agreed to sell their land out of fear. But Joseph is the last one to refuse. When he accidentally kills the Mafia representative with a pitchfork, dangerous armed men hunt him down from south to north of Corsica. Joseph is a changed man, forced to go on the run in the beautiful island. Shots are fired and people who try to help him are killed.
But his niece Vanni (Mara Taquin), visiting for the holidays from Paris, has the technical nous to turn him into a social media hero (hashtag #LastMohican) with a following of thousands. As a result, he and many others find a courage to resist corruption that they didn’t know they had. Morally, there’s no going back.
The Mohican is a fascinating, high-quality thriller set in beautiful countryside, where the traditional way of life starts to align with modernity. The Mafia has tried to manage the transition in the way they know and they are an ever-present threat, but the film’s message is that it’s possible to preserve your way of life into the next generation if you are brave or perhaps foolhardy enough to stand up for yourself, even if it means changing and accepting great personal danger.
The Mohican premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 1 September 2024. International representation by The PR Factory.
