Samba

A forgettable social drama about a simple, good-natured black guy who has a hard time in Paris because he’s an illegal immigrant. (25.05.2015)

Nakache and Toledano excel in telling a story of a random encounter of two completely different people with ordinary problems and connecting two completely different worlds in a way that will leave you with a really good feeling after you watch their movie. It was just as perfect as The Intouchables and you’ll fall in love with this movie just the same. There might be one problem – Samba is even more topical nowadays than it was when the movie came out, even worldwide. When I saw this movie, an outrage was storming through Europe about the refugees that were trying to get from the Near East to the West and the media made it very topical; even more topical than before, and it was already quite topical since this movie was talking about it. But a lot of people get annoyed by topical issues and I’m sure it will be the same with this movie. However, as for me, I must say that Omar Sy and Tahar Rahim have showcased such strong acting performances that it was hard not to love their refugees. In the end, you realize that these issues aren’t about groups of people, but about individuals. But you can’t separate, so we’ll always talk about them as groups. (29.06.2015)

This is ultimately a daring endeavor by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano. Once again, they reach the viewer through unobtrusive music by Ludovico Einaudi, score points with their topicality, and most importantly, rely on the overwhelming charisma and disarming smile of Omar Sy. And miraculously, they emerge victorious again. Their intangible weapons, thoroughly tested by now, have lost none of their firepower. Although the entire situation is once again appropriately lightened and in its essence a bit tough to swallow for those working in the social sphere, I am speechless. This is an attempt to tell a story about an issue that the overwhelming majority of people will laugh at, be moved by, and shake their heads at, but ultimately forget once they leave the cinema. And one cannot help but root for such an attempt. (10.04.2015)

Three previous encounters with the works of the duo Nakache and Toledano turned out great, so I took a risk and chose a film from their workshop that I already knew wouldn't quite sit well with me. I've never liked Gainsbourg. From her involvement in the snobbish films of Lars von Trier, she has gone even lower, and her presence on the screen is a real nuisance to me. I do not share the director duo's belief that we will solve the problems of third-world residents by resettling them in Europe. Contemporary France may be attractive to a pragmatic tourist who chooses the ideal ratio between price and the number of experiences. They can save themselves the trip to Algeria, Lebanon, Senegal, and many other destinations. However, the diverse multicultural environment brings a lot of painful cultural and political conflicts that can easily escalate into something much worse. Just feeding the growing and increasingly angry security apparatus confronting an expanding and more reckless group of Islamic radicals at a time when the French economy becomes uncompetitive and the country clearly declines is an unsolvable puzzle. You won't find any disturbing questions or a more comprehensive view of the phenomenon of immigration in the movie. But what is worse and leads to surprising disappointment is the mediocrity of storytelling and the absence of chemistry between Omar Sy and Gainsbourg. This film desperately lacks spontaneity, liveliness, originality, and freshness. It is predictable and comedically impotent. The main problem lies not in the casting or social significance, but in the poor entertainment value. Even the two stars I'm giving it are flimsy. Overall impression: 35%. (02.07.2021)

Charlotte Gainsbourg puts on her rose-tinted glasses and leads Omar Sy all the way to... go ahead and add your own take on what you like to think of as a happy ending. In this film, the options are a) to bed, b) to the sunset, or c) to the Eiffel Tower. Or the untouchable useless encounter between a nymphomaniac and a refugee. French romances of today are in fact quite similar to this. What is the world coming to? (28.07.2015)

Samba is about twenty-three things at once, which logically can't work with such a weak script and clueless direction. The biggest casualty to this is the development of individual situations, which is rushed and unrealistic, not to mention the editing between scenes, some of which would be inappropriately funny if I knew the film was made by, say, Werner Herzog, but which in this case are just plain inept. Fortunately, more than once they manage to create a scene or dialogue that keeps the attention on a comedic or dramatic level, but for all that the film wants to be, it's mostly just two hours long. (31.07.2015)

Quite disappointing. I admit that I expected more from the creators and the cast. Well, actually not from the cast, because Omar Sy is great, just like Charlotte. I believe them in every scene, but the film simply has an extremely slow pace, and in the end, it is also quite cliché and doesn't offer anything new. That's a shame. (30.12.2015)