God Bless You, Mr Kopu

"Unhappy? Need a change?" It's a question, a sales pitch, and perhaps a warning. When charismatic American salesman Marco (Simon Rex, Red Rocket) arrives in New Zealand touting a revolutionary new cleaning product, he's looking for ambitious recruits to build an army of door-to-door salespeople. Struggling to make ends meet, Mafu Kopu (TIFF 2021 Rising Star Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Predator: Badlands) sees an offer too good to refuse. Drawn in by Marco's effortless charm and uncanny powers of persuasion, he quickly becomes his star protégé. As the money starts to roll in, Mafu feels a growing distance from his Tongan family, his community, and the cultural values that have long defined him.

Written and directed by Alex Liu, God Bless You, Mr Kopu deftly blends sharp social satire with the swagger of late-1970s hustler and action cinema, building from an offbeat character dramedy into a propulsive thriller where loyalties fracture, motives prove more complicated than they first appear, and every decision carries consequences. Built around by a magnetic lead performance from Schuster-Koloamatangi and an irresistibly slippery turn from Rex, the film never loses sight of the emotional stakes beneath its escalating momentum.

Finding both humour and heartbreak in the seductive promises of modern capitalism, Liu explores how the pursuit of wealth and status can quietly erode social bonds, belonging, and even our sense of self. God Bless You, Mr Kopu — his confident feature debut — is at once an entertaining dark comedy, an empathetic moral thriller, and a deeply personal exploration of cultural identity that asks what we're willing to sacrifice when opportunity comes knocking.

JASON RYLE