User reviews

Samba is a french romantic-comedy. I really like that this film sticks with its origins. What i like about french romance and comedy is, that it is not so cheesy and over the top like those Hollywood productions. Samba is a very personal film. The characters are every day people with everyday problems. I appreciated, that the movie picked up the migration problem in France. The actors Omar Sy and Charlotte Gainsbourg perform very well. The downside is that the film is quite strait forward. Not much suspense, but what do you expect from a romantic comedy. The soundtrack is from Ludovic Einaudi, who also did the soundtrack for "Les intouchables". And also like in "Les intouchables" the music makes a perfect match with the story and the images.

For me this film is perfect romantic, funny, entertainment with a little bit of drama and social criticism.

I enjoyed every minute of the movie!At the same time Samba is so entertaining and comical with lots of great scenes, but also educative and touching. It shows real European attitude towards immigrants. I have to highlight actors. Both Omar Sy and Charlotte Gainsbourg are so believable. My favorite character is definitely Wilson, brilliantly played by Tahar Rahim. So lovable character. The soundtrack is also brilliant. I recommend Samba to all who wants good, entertaining comedy with unusual love story. This movie is so different from classical Hollywood romantic comedy and that's why I prefer European and non-Hollywood comedies.

First of all, Samba is not a movie about dancing. I guess we all know that but I really felt like making this joke. Forgive my sometimes childish spirit. Samba is an enjoyable movie about a subject we are all aware of: ilegal immigrants. Unfortunately, ilegal immigrants are not our primary concern and I doubt anyone wastes more than 5 seconds a year thinking about them and their situation.

Samba is a nice young man from Senegal who finds himself as close to being deported as when he arrived in Paris ten years back. During this decade in Paris, he worked in all sorts of jobs to take care of his family back home, and hoping to one day legalize his situation. In his particular struggle surviving in France and hiding from the police, he will find 3 people to rely on: his uncle who gives him a roof, a funny Arabic man who like him does not have a visa, and a french girl who is helping immigrants while taking a break from her real job.

The adventures of our protagonist will make you laugh, and they will make you sad. Either way, they are a clear representation of the reality for thousands of men who are completely forgotten by the world, and who were born to struggle. More than men, they are like ghosts in our cities.

As a conclusion, I would said, this is not the best movie I have seen by any means, but clearly a movie I am happy to have watched. I am not going to become a social worker just yet, but at least, the thought of these brave men will stay with me for more than a few seconds I previously dedicated to their cause.

"Samba" is a french comedy with a great history about the immigrants. I like this film. I've seen this film recently and I've been surprised because at first i thought it was just a stereotype movie about immigrants. Actually, I don't like french films but this one was a good one, there are really good characters. Obviously my favorite actor was the leading actor, Samba ( Omar Sy ), he plays very well. What i found as a great idea is that we can laugh even if it's a sad story with a happy ending. The only problem I had is that I already knew what was going to happen at the end of the film. I really recommend this film if you like laughing and watching touching film.

Greetings again from the darkness. Co-directors Olivier Narache and Eric Toledano delivered one of the best movies of 2012 with The Intouchables, and reunite to adapt a novel from Delphine Coulin. It's another "odd couple" story, this time focusing on Samba (Omar Sy) and Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg). The familiar blend of drama and comedy is present, and the French immigration process takes a few shots.

Omar Sy exploded on the scene in The Intouchables and again proves what a tremendous screen presence he has. However this time his turn is mostly dramatic, while the bulk of the comedy arrives courtesy of his friend Wilson (played by Tahar Rahim from A Prophet). Ten years ago, Samba immigrated to France from Senegal, and has been sending money home ever since. A police incident leaves Samba in danger of being deported, and he receives help from Alice, an inexperienced immigration worker who is dealing with her own issues … she's a hard core corporate burn out (hide your cell phone fellas!).

Given the subject matter, the film is much funnier and pleasant to watch than one might expect. The actors listed above, along with Izia Higelin as another immigration worker, are all wonderful and interesting to watch as their characters struggle through the hand they've been dealt. Samba and Wilson steal moments of joy while living in constant fear of being discovered, while Alice is borderline depressive and insomniac. She and Samba spend much of the movie in clumsy flirtations while their stressful situations swirl around. It's awkward to watch, but we do find ourselves hoping things work out for each of them.

A very promising opening sequence contrasts the attendees of a high-dollar wedding with the working class of those in the kitchen- of which Samba is one. Unfortunately, this contrast is mostly hinted at for the rest of the film, except for one terrific "back and forth/ him and her" segment. The best guess is that there is an outstanding dramatic story hidden by the overuse of comedy. While the laughs are legitimate and appreciated, the film leaves us feeling a bit empty, given the lack of information and insight we take away in regards to French immigration.

The emotion part of the movie is magnificent. You really get to understand what the uncertain life of an asylant feels like. But the ending was missing details and I felt like they tried to keep the ending short. What a pity.

And I'm not talking hot as in physically (though some may argue Omar is hot, which I reckon is not completely wrong), but as in right now, news worthy topic hot. Immigrants are one of the main "issues" in quite a few countries at the moment and it's almost comical to what degree some are arguing on this.

This movie on the other hand is intentionally funny and it has good actors to back that story up. Even if you don't buy everything the characters are doing, you can easily empathize with them, if you're willing and open enough, to let those emotions in. The movie has a message in all the entertainment, which can be taken or read or completely ignored. That's up to the viewer. It is a very well made movie though and you can watch it, even without the current events being an obstacle to that form of "entertainment"

As some have noted before, it is a light-hearted movie on a serious topic (undocumented immigrants) but always respectful at that.

I cannot quite agree with the reviewers that did not see the humor in this movie (I laughed about every three minutes throughout - expect towards the end - and sometimes even cried at the same time). Neither can I understand how people can say that the characters are flat or even "boring". Imho, the film succeeds in portraying them in not just black and white; each of them (and there are many!) evolves within the 120 minutes so much so that, in fact, it is not about the immigrants being the "angels" and the immigrant officers being the "devils" at all. On the contrary, lines are blurred very early on and especially in the end.

I find that this is a worth successor of "Untouchables"; I probably even prefer it. It is a very moving film (similar to the documentary "l'Escale") but without trying to be so. Also, the actors are brilliant! (Omar Sy, I think, even manages to mimic a Senegalese accent.)

It is an enjoyable movie; the plot is good and the acting of Omar Sy is excellent; it is highly recommended.

I walked out of the cinema with a smile on my face, I was entertained watching this movie. Samba is just like the dance, slick, emotional but also fun. Omar Sy and Charlotte Gainsbourg's rapport on film felt natural and wasn't overplayed all actors on this movie, do it justice. The reality of illegal immigrants is not what this movie is about this movie is about hope through 4 different main characters, Samba, Alice, Wilson and Manu, spotlight is on Samba and Alice, but you get a sense that really it's all about Samba and his survival in the urban jungle. Charlotte Gainsbourg gives a riveting performance, as a tortured soul in need of feeding and nurturing, at times filling the screen with her beauty at others looking so raw and in pain, it's all in her eyes and a gentle pitch in her voice, I don't think her voice has changed much since l'Effrontée ( she was 15 and that was 25 years ago!). Tahar Rahim was also very believable as Wilson, he has fun with this role, but never takes away from Omar Sy, good supporting actor's performance from him. The soundtrack is uplifting with the theme song To Know you is to Love you by Stevie Wonder with Syreeta, the melody punctuates the film throughout and you walk out humming it to yourself. The ending is french it's after all a french movie so no "fluffy, Hollywood,let's all live happily ever after ", cheesy ending for Samba. Just a natural conclusion, a blend of softness and release.

In 2011, "Intouchables", starring Omar Sy and François Cluzet, touched the hearts of 20 millions French viewers through the unlikely friendship between a street-smart guy of African background and a white paraplegic millionnaire. The film met with international acclaim and made former TV comedian Omar Sy a star. Despite its obvious formula, there was a genuine sincerity and comedy never felt forced. Driven by such a success, Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache made a similarly driven-by-good-sentiments comedy in 2014, but the formula doesn't work and the script feel more like a calculated effort to duplicate "Intouchables"

Samba Cissé, an Senegalese illegal immigrant, is the protagonist of a tale full of clichés and contrivances that severely undermine the message and create such an overdose of saccharine it's a miracle it remained reasonably watchable till the ending. Not a single character is capable to transcend overused tropes, starting wth Samba himself. Struggling to make ends meet and keep a low profile to avoid paper controls, he's got a nice smile and a sweet voice obviously meant to contrast with his athletic noticeability but never is his desperateness so great he can act beyond the obvious sanctification he's subjected to. The level of gentleness he conveys in some scenes confines to dim-wittedness, but that's not a reflection on Sy, the blame is on the script.

I actually liked the opening sequence: no words, just a fancy restaurant with a long shot panning over the kitchen where migrants are working, obviously not the same profile than the customers. The film has a fair documentary value as it highlights the situations of migrants, doing petty and ungrateful jobs such as cleaning skyscraper windows, recycling garbage, and maybe there's a statement that these people are doing the jobs 'good citizens' refuse to, dirtying their hands or risking their necks. It would have been nice to have a few counter-examples instead of just preaching that all illegal migrants are driven by the best intentions. The narrative plays it safe, it's polished to the level of artificial blandness, and only comedy can spice up the material, but that's not saying much..

I already had a bad feeling when we were introduced to the two social workers, Charlotte Gainsbourg plays Alice a post-burnout businesswoman with a nervous speech pattern and who can't open her bag without spilling pills and cachets all over the table. No depressed individual would expose these "details" but the script insists on exposing her as a neurotic. And what better conversation-starter with Samba? Her experienced colleague Manu (Izia Higelin) as her masculine nickname indicates, is the sharpshooter meant to highlight Alice's insecurity. When she sets off the metal detector, she shows a belly button ring. Then it beeps again a little lower. "you want a picture, sorry can't show this, can you let us come?" I couldn't believe a cop would let anyone get away with that attitude. But since Many is the comic relief, she's got to be Mrs. One-Liner.

Everyone in "Samba" is an archetype whose actions follow a pre-written status: the comic relief, the voice of reason etc. There's a running-gag about Manu warning Alice over keeping some distance from the migrants and not give her phone number. Of course, she does. When Manu asks Alice if she did, Alice's nervous "no, of course" was supposed to be a joke. Ha ha. And it doesn't help that both actresses overplay their roles and that the two end up falling in love with two migrants, conveying the absurd notion that an attraction to exotic individuals had a little bearing on their endeavor.

And so we get an embarrassing scene where she asks Samba to put on a shirt, peep over his torso and make him an object of interracial fantasy "Intoucbables" had almost flirted with such voyeurism when it made Driss a terrific dancer admired by little 'bourgeois' but it worked. However, they felt the need to add a striptease session with Tahar Rahim as Wilson -the other migrant who pretends to be Brazilian- in front of cheerful female office workers. I have less a problem with that scene than its pretentious gratuitousness, there could be a subtle point to make about a certain white female gaze on ethnic men, and the way it can be cleverly exploited by these very targets, but the film didn't aim that high.

Anyway, after a nice party meant to elicit our admiration toward social workers, Mrs. One-LIner finally falls in love with Wilson precisely because she has a crush on Latinos, not only the subplot never really pays off but it contradicts her character who's supposed to be so smart she wouldn't fall in such a trap, The attempts of a romantic comedy are forced and clunky and in fact the whole premise is ruined by Alice being in love with Samba while the two had better chemistry friendship-wise.

As I said, Sy was good, and I liked Isaka Sawadogo as his uncle Jonas. The thing is that his gentleness is needlessly emphasized so the closest to a bad action is when he ends up having an affair with the fiancée of a fellow Senegalese he met in the camps. Instead of bringing some trouble with the Law, it's all a McGuffin to make Samba stay in France. The preposterous ending was a copout because it prevented to raise the question: if he couldn't get his papers, couldn't he just marry Alice? The directors don't even dare to raise an important point about marriage-in-name.

That would have been an interesting dilemma because I could never see them together. In a scene where they have their first intimate moments, a plumbery incident makes her so hysterical I couldn't see him spending his life with her... And so I tried to see the film differently, imagining Samba as a manipulative fellow trying to marry Alice, get his papers and get the hell out. Not a good sign when a plot looks better from a cynical angle.

Samba Cissé (Omar Sy) is an undocumented migrant from Senegal living with his uncle in Paris. He's been in the country for ten years and is working in a kitchen. He's offered a contract and tries to apply for papers. He's quickly arrested and put in detention. Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is a new social worker assigned to his case. He befriends Jonas who hasn't seen his fiancé Gracieuse for two years. He is ordered to leave France and allowed to walk out of the detention center. He befriends an Algerian named Wilson as he struggles to find work with the order hanging over his head.

There are some funny moments of the social workers struggling to make sense of their clients. Omar Sy is a compelling presence. He has real charisma. This was released in 2014 but it feels like the news have overtaken the migrant issue. This movie is not all light and fun but it definitely does not take that issue to that level. Watching it only two years later, it feels very dated. This kind of comedy with touches of drama doesn't fit these dark times.

Samba (2014) Directors: Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano Watched: 7/29/18 Rating: 6/10

Yes, Samba Like the dance. Funny/heartfelt, Einaudi's aurally awing soundtrack Mitigates poorly paced/unfocused plot. Gainsborough/Sy Are au fait Actors, But Not Very Convincing As two lovers. Compelling illegal immigrant woes, Sincere until deus ex machina. Priceless last scene Will make you Cheer or Dance!

Tetractys poems stem from the mathematician Euclid, who considered the number series 1, 2, 3, 4 to have a mystical significance because of its sum of 10. He named it a Tetractys. Thus, these poems follow a 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 syllable format, with additional verses written in an inverted syllable count. #Tetractys #QuadrupleTetractys #PoemReview #French #Immigrants #Soundtrack

$426 million. The amount of money director's Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano last film The Intouchables made world-wide upon release in 2011/12. Not a bad haul for a movie that cost around $10 million to make.

The thing with the Intouchables was, it was not only a huge box office sensation (particularly in its home country of France) but it was a film that both audiences and critics fawned over so much so that at the time of writing the film holds a steady place within the top 50 of the IMDb Top 250 films of all time. With such success comes expectations however and Nakache and Toledano had their work cut out to make there next project even half of what the Intouchables was, that project was Samba.

Let's be frank, Samba neither replicated the box office success or the audience success that the Intouchables found but it's not like Samba is a bad film. Actually it's far from it; it's a likable film that for many reasons just doesn't contain enough spark or chemistry within it to even come close to bringing the feel good feels that came with the Intouchables. Firstly the story at the heart of this drama that has moments of comedy isn't nearly as attention grabbing as the true life tale at the heart of Philippe's and Driss's friendship and the films central romance between Omar Sy's (returning to work with the directors) illegal immigrant Samba and community worker Alice, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg never takes off, the two sharing an uneasy chemistry and Samba instead finds its winning card in other places.

Sharing the screen with the always likable Tahar Rahim (an actor you just know will truly breakout one day) as fellow immigrant Wilson, Sy and Rahim find a groove in their on screen companionship that is both funny and at times emotionally resonate and they elevate the film so much so that you wish the film was centred more around these two newly acquainted friends. They deliver the films funniest scenes (a window washing scene in particular) and showcase just what could've been had Samba found more for these two actors to do.

A topical film I'm sure for those situated in France and perhaps the world over in light of the recent refugee crisis's hitting the news in the last few months, Samba is a quality film that perhaps unfortunately will always be judged alongside the director's famed predecessor. It's a shame Samba's plot didn't play more to its strengths found in Sy and Rahim's and in the end it's a gently touching tale without being a great one.

3 ½ lucky t-shirts out of 5

The theme of the movie is not simple, or even disturbing, Hard to be a refugee, even if you are a good man, But the subject is presented beautifully, You laugh and cry with the characters,   That's how it is in life. All the actors are great, but the leading actors, outstanding! Who plays the role of Samba was an actor in another great movie

And that is that great!

Do not really understand movies, But if you sit transfixed chair the film, was running a good movie!

Film review has been translated by Google, so if this is a little weird it is Google's fault! Go see this movie!

"Samba" (2014 release from France; 115 min.) brings the story of Samba Cissé. As the movie opens, the camera pans from a wedding reception to ultimately the back kitchen, where we meet Samba, an illegal resident in Paris hailing from Senegal, making ends meet as a dishwasher. It's not long before Samba gets into trouble, and he faces possible deportation, despite having live in France already 10 years. Alice, a novice social worker/pro bono immigration adviser, is assigned to Samba's case. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: first, this is a return of the team that brought us the delightful "The Untouchables" a few years ago: co-directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, and lead actor Omar Sy. On top of that, one of my favorite actresses, Charlotte Gainsbourg, co-stars. So this just HAS to be a great movie, right? Alas, it was not to be. From almost the very beginning of the movie, the plot is riddled with clichés and one-dimensional characters. Alice, played by Gainsbourg, is a rookie, literally the first day on the job. She is told by a co-worker who is training her that she should never, ever give out her phone number to any of the immigrants she is assigned to assist. So what does Alice do within minutes? Give her phone number to Samba, of course! The immigration system is portrayed as absurd, and I'm sure that there are serious issues there, but the way that the directors present it to us (all illegal immigrants: angels! immigration officials: the devil incarnate!) just made me roll my eyes. As for the supposed "comedy" aspects of this movie, I didn't notice much of any. I'm sorry if I'm being harsh on this movie. I'm sure this movie was well-intended, and I really wanted to like it, but when the movie was over, I felt very disappointed and, frankly, let down. Please note there is a nice soundtrack (available in France but not in the US, as far as I can tell), which features the Brothers Johnson's "Stomp", Bob Marley's "Waiting In Vain", and Cyreeta's "To Know You Is to Love You", among many others.

I saw this movie during a recent family visit in Belgium. The early evening screening where I saw this at was quite well attended actually. I have no idea if or when this movie will make it to US theaters, although given the success on the art-house theater circuit of "The Untouchables", I wouldn't be surprised that this gets a US release at some point. Whether in the theater or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, I encourage you to check this out and draw your own conclusions about "Samba".

Samba is an exceptional portrait of the experiences of a Senegalese immigrant in Paris. Having lived under the radar for ten years, Samba finds himself arrested and ordered to leave the country, which brings him into the orbit of Alice, a fragile and exhausted woman who has experienced severe burnout thanks to a gruelling and brutal corporate career and is donating time on her road to recovery to assist immigrant clients with their attempts to remain in France.

From there on, it seems that Samba's time is up. Ever determined to remain in France, he is thwarted time and again by his lack of legal paperwork and the difficulty of avoiding the police.

But he is persistent in his will to survive. Despite every attempt to strip him of his dignity, he refuses to give up. His spirit is bruised but not crushed.

There is tragedy in how Samba is battered by the harsh world he faces as an undocumented immigrant. But in human connection he also experiences moments of joy, laughter and love too.

In counterpoint to his experiences are Alice's, whose own idea of a struggle has been to work herself into a state of paralysis and depression in the corporate world: their worlds could not be further apart. Yet, there is common ground and common humanity to be found between them.

An exceptional film about the dogged determination of a man dealt a truly tough hand.

Of course this drama doesn't avoid many clichés, but it remains a very good picture, and proves that Omar Sy is a gifted Afro French actor. Since many years now, France produces movies about immigration and all the problems that migrants have in this country, most of them being intolerance and unemployment. Charlotte Gainsbourg is excellent too, convincing, poignant, human. It is a bitter sweet story, rather than simply sad, mainly realistic without being hopeless.

This film moved me more than almost any other I've seen, and the other English reviews seem to have seen a different movie. Samba is profound and tragic in that it shows two people who have both suffered because of their position in society. The woman has come to doubt herself and feel sub-human; the man has managed to maintain self-respect in a global economy that puts him at the bottom because of his origins in Africa. He has humor, kindness, a good work ethic, and integrity, but what good will it do him in the face of the skewed policies of national interest? Thanks to him, the woman regains faith in herself and falls profoundly in love, but will they make it? For me, the film's ending is ambiguous, leaving this an open question for the viewer to try to answer. A painful and beautiful film for me. Loved it.