A beach doesn’t only provide a nice backdrop for a foot chase early in “The Mohican,” but becomes an unusually poignant piece of scenery when all the tourists Joseph (Alexis Manenti) has to dodge unwittingly pose as much of a threat to him as the local mafioso chasing him, hunting him down to sign over the land his goat farm sits on in a provincial part of Italy that’s proximity to the coast is suddenly making it appealing to developers. A balding, burly man who is younger than most farmers in the region after carrying on the family tradition from his father, but still not well-conditioned to take on the developers’ aggressive tactics, Joseph makes for a strong representative in any number of respects for those attempting to protect the region’s agricultural roots, resisting calls to sell the property, but in well over his head when things turn violent.
That makes him “The last of the Mohicans” among longtime residents of the community, who see fit to give him a nickname when news that he’s gone on the run as a fugitive, a folk hero status that makes Frédéric Farrucci’s thriller as wily as a narrative as its main character as he eludes capture. Following the death of Michel, the son of the real estate magnate hoping to purchase his acreage, on his land after an unexpected visit, Joseph hastily has to give up the idea of ever sleeping again in the house he was raised in, but knows that for as long as he’s alive the place won’t fall into the wrong hands as others around him have been pressured into selling and when one person gives up their land, it adds to the burden on the next. While the law works in his favor as far as the paperwork is concerned, the police and much of the population of this part of Sardinia are inclined to look the other way when the mob is brought in to settle such matters and even if they weren’t treating him as a suspect for murder, Joseph could hardly expect much help from anyone once Xavier Petri, a well-known capo is assigned to bring him in. As a club owner says to Joseph’s visiting niece Vannina (Mara Taquin) when asked about serving a cold-blooded killer, “He pays.”
Manenti, who made a strong impression in Ladj Ly’s “Les Miserables” as a conflicted cop, is captivating as a questionable criminal, barreling along and unaware of both where the threats are to his safety and the growing appreciation for his life on the lam that first manifests itself online and spills over into the real world. Thankfully, Farrucci is more interested in spending more time there even when Vannina starts to seed social media with support for her uncle and beyond keeping the outpouring of virtual affection for Joseph to a minimum, the director prizes reality at every turn in the heightened scenario with action scenes all the more impactful when no one bears superhuman strength and the choices made by the characters all seem reasonable and more instinctual than the norm. It turns out there’s a lot of power in an average Joe.
“The Mohican” will screen again at the Venice Film Festival on September 2nd at 9 am at Sala Giardino.