Garance Bocobza

Mercato takes us behind the scenes of today's soccer, a global industry with interests running into billions. Driss, a player agent, has seven days to save his skin before the end of the mercato...

Seven men, all city-dwellers aged between 17 and 70, with nothing in common apart from the fact that they are all on the verge of a nervous breakdown, meet up at a lonely sta- tion for an unusual course in the wild that is supposed to get them back on their feet. Each step in this boot camp, designed by an eccentric and feisty female coach, aims to reveal them to themselves. The task seems to be a tough one, especially as nothing goes as planned between these men.

Ten days into the competition, the International Games are a complete fiasco for the French delegation as they’ve consistently failed to win any gold medals. All hopes now rest on Paul, an outstanding shooting champion, though somewhat immature and not particularly clever. As the event draws near, he has to share his room with Jacob, a carefree swimmer from Vanuatu, who seems more focused on the village’s “extra-curricular activities” than on his own races.