Joseph Cardelli, played by Alexis Manenti, goes from goatherd to GOAT when he unintentionally kills the mob henchman, who was pressuring him to sell his land, in Frederic Farrucci’s The Mohican.
The film, which just had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, has echoes of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts due to the similarity of their plots and rural settings. Whereas the villagers in The Beasts had animosity towards its protagonist, here Joseph is heralded as a hero thanks to the social media posts of his niece Vannina, played by Mara Taquin. They give him the nickname The Mohican since he is one of the last goatherds on the Corsican coast.
Manenti, who had memorable turns in recent films Athena, Les Miserables, and The Rapture, gives a nuanced performance, where he makes us feel Joseph’s frustration, rage, and fear at every turn. Farrucci constructs an entertaining thriller with a satisfying finale while showcasing the problems the locals face with the mafia and the excessive coastal development in the region.
