His life, like his uncle’s, was meant to be a selfless one, but he is looking for the chance at his happiness. Even with the help of an over-enthusiastic, slightly sexually motivated case worker, Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg), Samba is forced to leave his steady job for work as a temp, using a fake identity and hiding running from naturalization agents at every turn. After trying to go the legal route and applying for citizenship, Samba is put on the government’s radar and asked to leave the country. He is currently staying with his elderly uncle, who is and has been doing the same thing for decades. He has come to France to work so he can provide for his family who is an entire continent away. Samba (Omar Sy), aside from being a very spirited dance is also the name of an equally spirited immigrant. Samba attempts to show us the everyday struggle of the working class and their attempts to chase the Parisian dream. This is the Paris we have come to expect from every American-abroad romantic comedy and Jean-Pierre Jeunet film. Around every corner, there is a magical moment to be had at some charming café or skilled, painted pantomimer. With stars like Gainsborough already queuing up to work with him, he’s quickly becoming on of French cinema’s most bankable exports.Too many times have we seen Paris and the mecca of love and artistic freedom. While some have taken issue with the film’s insincere treatment of a problem that is so prevalent in France, it really is difficult to resist its charm a charm embodied by Sy as Samba.Īfter two huge successes, it will be intriguing to see what Sy turns his talent to next. The hit-and-miss episodes of farce in Samba serve to disrupt the coming together of the central pair, as well as highlighting the unbridled resolve of the titular character. Scenes of pain are even more effectively realised when followed by moments of relief, and only every so often does the film’s comic tone feel a touch irksome. For all the seriousness of the issues portrayed in the film, there’s an unashamed light-heartedness, if not sentimentality, in the directors’ approach.
Alice forgets all about her hang-ups, the stress and worry that tinge her life, while Samba needs little encouragement to enjoy being with the woman in front of him. On screen, their relationship is incredible to watch, their vulnerabilities dissipating completely when around one another. Samba, on the other hand, is vibrant, optimistic and a little goofy – regardless of the precarious situation he finds himself in. Playing against type, Gainsborough’s character is timid, anxious and vulnerable. Samba is to be Alice’s first case, and despite vehement warnings from her co-worker to not get emotionally involved with the people she’s helping, it’s clear there’s a magnetic chemistry between the two of them that can’t be ignored.
With nowhere to turn, Samba comes face to face with Alice (Charlotte Gainsborough), a burnt-out white collar worker volunteering at the immigration office after suffering from a stress-related breakdown. His employment there is strictly off the books, and when the offer of a proper contract proves too tempting to ignore, he’s seized upon by immigration police – despite having lived in Paris for the past ten years. Samba opens at a swanky high-class party in which the camera, in one impressive take, pulls back from the decadence, winds through bustling corridors and settles on Samba (Omar Sy), washing dishes at the back of a hotel kitchen. The French writer/director team Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache follow the success of The Untouchables with this warming love story set amid immigration strife.
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