MFFF MOVIE REVIEW: SAMBA


4/5

Samba (Omar Sy) is an illegal immigrant from Senegal who is trying to make ends meet in Paris and become a certified chef. Things get tough when his application is rejected and he is under obligation to leave France. But then he meets enigmatic Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg) - a middle aged woman with problems of her own. As two build their friendship their both lives slowly, but steadily, go back on track. But will the one mistake from Samba’s past is going to finally catch up with him and destroy everything he is about to build?

SAMBA is a dramatic comedy about taking chances and rebuilding from scratch. A love story with the background of social French issues, it is designed to be both uplifting and a little sad. The immigration problem is showcased as the one impossible to repair and unorthodox methods the characters use in order to evade the rules seems like the only solution.  

But it not the main focus of the film. SAMBA is trying to make the point, that even when the system lets you down it’s the real people and their willing to help each other that matter.

Directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano riding on the success of the INTOCHIBLES (their previous film, also with Omar Sy) still love to make movies full of optimism. SAMBA is all about dialogue and hilarious set pieces that will never let you down and always feel fresh. Omar Sy is a good performer, and is quick to win over your sympathy. Charlotte Gainsbourg is a little too reserved, but she is also quirky and as the film progresses we learn that there’s more to her character than we originally imagined.

Music by Ludovico Einaudi is repetitive, but suits the film’s tone of urgency to find a solution to the characters’ many problems.

SAMBA does not have many surprises in store, but it is designed to please. Walking out of the theatre you will feel a little better about yourself and the world you are living in, and this does count for something.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Door Lock (Korean Movie Review)

Image
8/10 The life of Kyung-min is a work-home-sleep routine and rarely varies. But out of nowhere unsettling incidents start creeping in. The door handle to her apartment turns in the middle of the night as if someone is trying to enter, repeatedly dialling the passcode of her door lock. Is it possible that someone enters her apartment when she is out at work or worse, when she is fast asleep? And how all this connected to the disappearance of a girl next door? Kyung-min will not rest until she finds out, even if it may cost her her life. DOOR LOCK is loosely based on a Spanish movie SLEEP TIGHT which was rather a drama than a thriller. By changing the setting to a cold faceless suburb of Seoul the movie takes us into the heart of an urban nightmare where it’s easy to disappear and no-one will come looking for you. Kyung-min is an unlikable protagonist who is suffering from multiple phobias and is even ready to break certain rules to flirt with her clients, but she develops strength
Read more

IFF MOVIE REVIEW; PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SUNNY SPELLS (TEMPO INSTABILE COM PROBABILI SCHIARITE)

Image
2 1/5 /5 Ermanno and Giacomo are two friends and partners in a small furniture business. As their finances are running dry threatening the closure of the factory an incredible thing occurs - they discover the the oil on their backyard. To put the oil on a production rails requires a significant investment of money and effort, and the two old friends go head to head when their opinions on what to do with the grand discovery differ. What will win, the honest stubbornness or practicality? There are films that are not intended for an international market and PARTLY CLOUDY is one of those films. Oriented mainly for the family viewing it includes animation sequences that are too unoriginal to attract younger viewers while the two middle aged men arguing over the oil does not make an intensive enough experience for an older audience either. Even the charisma of the ever popular  Luca Zingsretti in the role of Giacomo is somehow inefficient in this well written, but weakly sho
Read more

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - the film c
Read more