Review of Samba

Samba (2014)
10/10
Laughed and cried in the same breath
12 April 2015
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.)
31 out of 41 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed