God Bless You, Mr. Kopu Review

Like its titular character, writer-director Alex Liu’s feature debut God Bless You, Mr. Kopu has an aspirational, nearing-desperate quality. Set around the rougher edges of New Zealand and among the Tongan community, the film presents a melange of elements that almost cohere into something special. Credit to Liu, though; it’s not from lack of trying.

Way down on his luck, Mafu (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, a compelling screen presence) decides to try out for a job selling Forget, a supposedly miraculous cleaning product. In no time, he’s out with the top salesman in the land, Marco (Simon Rex), who shows him the ropes—and then some. Despite a slick 80s-era aura, cool Euro-sports car, and confidence out the wazoo, something is off with Marco and the entire Forget operation. To spoil that is to ruin God Bless You, Mr. Kopu, but only just; it’s not altogether difficult to figure out what it means for a young Tongan to be convincing other poor Tongans to buy stuff they don’t need at the behest of a reckless white man (and American, no less). Mafu starts making money, gets the girl (Grace Palmer), and his life improves, but at what cost? Along the way, Liu’s efforts do not go unnoticed, either. His film hustles as hard as poor Mafu, appreciating angles and spectacle in a proof-of-concept manner that will hopefully set up better films. Meanwhile, Rex has become a must-watch presence; his performance here delivers the deviousness we’ve come to expect.

That expectation leads to disappointment, however, as it becomes clear God Bless You, Mr. Kopu doesn’t have much of an exit strategy. Liu borrows from some other great films—Get Out chief among them—but lacks that level of execution. In the mad scramble to an ending, as things turn increasingly macabre, his film doesn’t close with much confidence.