By Dan Skip Allen

I’ve mentioned before in other reviews that foreign films tell stories in ways that most Americans don’t connect with. It’s a film from New Zealand. Well, that’s the case with “God Bless You, Mr. Kofu”. It’s a strange story that is from the writer/director Alex Liu. It won’t be a story that a lot of people will relate to. It has a strange narrative that’s not easy to follow along with. Most people might be upset by the people in this movie, but it’s just a movie, not real life. Sometimes, these kinds of crime films don’t resonate with everyone. If you go along with it, though, it’s pretty good.

Maf Kofu (Dimitrius Shuster-Koloamatangi) is a down on his luck guy in New Zealand. He gets a new job as a salesman of a revolutionary cleaning product called Forget. He starts his new job but he’s not very good at it. His boss Margot (Grace Palmer) who he’s attracted to tells him to go to a bar where the best salesman, Marko Cass (Simon Rex), is going to be for a meet and greet. After a long day at work, not making many sales, he goes to the bar and almost gets thrown out before, wouldn’t you know it, Rex, in his nice white suit and 1985 porches 125 car arrives. He starts talking to him and takes this young guy under his wing. He shows him how he has become such a great salesman of the cleaning product “Forget”.

This film is mainly a two-hander with the Rex and Shuster-Koloamatangi characters going house to house selling the cleaning product. Sometimes, the Palmer character pops up as a romantic character for the Shuster-Koloamatangi character. Mainly, it’s the two of them, though. Rex’s character is like a mentor to the Shuster-Koloamatangi character. He shows him his tricks of how he convinces people to buy his cleaning product. They get to know each other and find out who each of them truly is. Their true motivations will remain a secret as far as I’m concerned. No spoilers here. Let’s just say there is a major twist in the story that will be a surprise to those who watch this New Zealand set movie featuring a lot of Tongans. 

Simon Rex was an actor I wasn’t familiar with until I saw him in Sean Baker’s “Red Rocket” but I’ve seen him in a few other films since then like “Tow” “Blink Twice” and the “Scary Movie” Franchise. He’s an actor who has a comedic nature to a lot of his roles. He seems like he’s having fun with the roles he’s been taking. I feel that may be the case here as well. This performance starts out pretty straightforwardly and then turns into a pretty zany role as the film progresses. He is pretty good at balancing the different kinds of characters he plays. Here, it’s pretty wild what his character goes through, but he seems at home the wilder the film gets. I’m enjoying him the more movies I see him in. 

Shuster-Koloamatangi is a newer actor as far as I’m concerned. Him being from New Zealand and of Samoan & Tongan Heritage plays a big part in that. One particular role he’s very memorable to me as is Dek from last year’s “Predator: Badlands”. He was fantastic opposite Elle Fanning in that film. Here, he gets to act without the heavy makeup and is quite the engaging character as far as I’m concerned. I could really relate to the struggles he’s going through financially, trying to find a good job and being taken under the wing of an older wiser gentleman. I’ve been involved in all of these things in my life. So I know what this man is going through. I like him as a sympathetic character. He was terrific in this role. He worked terrifically opposite Rex and Palmer in the movie.

There is a crime aspect to this story. These types of films can be hit or miss. Especially if the believability factor isn’t there. This one has a “Get Out” element to it, and I think it fits into this particular story quite well. Obviously, you have to take any crazy story element within a movie with a grain of salt. That’s the case here as well. The crazy aspect of the story is the reason the film works. Regarding the crime elements, I can see why some won’t come along with it. Especially if they’ve been a victim of said crime. I have always been a guy who doesn’t trust salesmen or people who come to my door for any reason who I don’t know or that I didn’t know was coming over. I was sold on this premise, though, even with the “Get Out” twist. 

“God Bless You, Mr. Kofu” is a zany crime thriller. It has a twist that you will either buy into or completely sell no pun intended. The main cast members are all terrific. Even Palmer, in a supporting role, is entertaining. The story and direction by Liu are fine. As someone who has had similar things happen in my life, I was interested in seeing how this film was going to resolve itself. It was a satisfying ending for me. As a foreign film, it was definitely different. Filmgoers should give movies from foreign countries a chance. This one was a good time, and it kept me zoomed in throughout its hour and 42-minute runtime. Hopefully, it’ll catch on with American viewers who give it a chance.

🌟 🌟 🌟 ½ stars