Fondi 91 is Canadian director Dev Khanna’s feature film debut, starring Raymond Ablack (Degrassi, Orphan Black). A coming of age story, the film follows a New Jersey soccer team on a two week trip to a soccer tournament in Italy. Amil (Ablack), “Aladdin” to his teammates, is known as the nice, quiet guy there just to play soccer. The rest of the team is there for girls, drinking and a good time. When Amil’s shyness and indecisiveness allows a teammate to assault (and possibly rape) a girl (Mylene St-Sauveur), tensions mount and hidden resentments begin to surface.

The film begins as a comedy slightly reminiscent of American Pie; the sudden shift to more serious things (racism, sexual assault and orientation) is handled well. Ablack plays the confused and largely impotent Amil well, although he is rarely given much beyond “look attractive and innocent.” When he is given something tougher, he acquits himself fantastically. The rest of the cast are pretty much perfect, but they all slot into clichéd roles. There’s the horny idiot, the closeted gay guy, the wise-beyond-her-years big sister, the scumbag… But there are little nuances that break those archetypes slightly, just enough to give them a different dimension. The line between right and wrong are blurred, with most characters having very positive and very negative attributes, swinging between “good guys” and “bad guys” from situation to situation.

The third act is easily the weakest. There is no real resolution, and so the characters are left to wander around aimlessly, blundering from moment to moment. There is the occasional flash of brilliance (Amil describes himself as an American with Indian parents). The film seems to just drifts along at it’s own pace, Dev Khanna seeming to have made some very questionable choices with his directorial debut. On the strength of the first two acts and the characters, I would recommend it, but be warned, the final act will destroy what goodwill the first two have built up. Recommended, but not a must-see.

Donal O’connor