The French writer-director team Eric Toledano and Olivier
Nakache follow the success of The
Intouchables with this warming love story set amidst immigration strife.
The film 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. 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. 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.
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.
Playing against type, Gainsborough’s character is timid,
anxious and vulnerable. Samba, on the other hand, is vibrant, optimistic and a
little goofy – regardless of the precarious situation he finds himself in. On
screen, their relationship is incredible to watch, their vulnerabilities
dissipating completely when around one another. 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. For all the
seriousness of the issues portrayed in the film, there’s an unashamed
light-heartedness, if not sentimentality, in the directors’ approach. 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.
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. 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 Samba.
After two huge successes, it will be intriguing to see what
Omar Sy turns his talent to next. With stars like Charlotte Gainsborough
already queuing up to work with him, he’s quickly becoming on of French
cinema’s most bankable exports.
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