Samba (2014)

Samba migrated to France ten years ago from Senegal, and has since been plugging away at various lowly jobs. Alice is a senior executive who has recently undergone a burn-out. Both struggle... See full summary »

Directors:

Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano

Writers:

Éric Toledano (scenario), Olivier Nakache (scenario)

Stars:

Omar Sy, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Tahar Rahim

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Omar Sy	...	Samba Cissé
Charlotte Gainsbourg	...	Alice
Tahar Rahim	...	Walid dit Wilson
Izïa Higelin	...	Manu
Issaka Sawadogo	...	Jonas Karanoto
Hélène Vincent	...	Marcelle
Youngar Fall	...	L'oncle Lamouna
Christiane Millet	...	Madeleine
Jacqueline Jehanneuf	...	Maggy
Liya Kebede	...	Magali dite Gracieuse
Sabine Pakora	...	Gracieuse - la gérante du salon
Clotilde Mollet	...	Josiane - de l'agence d'intérim
Boubacar Ndiaye	...	Un migrant à l'association
Oumar Makalou	...	Un migrant à l'association
Roukiata Ouedraogo	...	Un migrant à l'association

Storyline

Samba migrated to France ten years ago from Senegal, and has since been plugging away at various lowly jobs. Alice is a senior executive who has recently undergone a burn-out. Both struggle to get out of their dead-end lives. Samba's willing to do whatever it takes to get working papers, while Alice tries to get her life back on track until fate draws them together.

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Plot Keywords:

paris france | immigrant | legal aid | character name as title | forename as title | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes those with nothing have the most to lose.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Gaumont [France] Official site

Country:

France

Language:

French English Portuguese Russian Serbian Arabic

Release Date:

15 October 2014 (France)

Also Known As:

Самба

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$39,041, 31 July 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$149,805, 23 August 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Quad Productions, Ten Films, Gaumont

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Swiss censorship certificate # 1010.59.

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Quotes

Alice: Ni le début d'abus.

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Crazy Credits

A continuation of the last scene showing Samba walking through Paris is seen behind the initial credits (till around one-third of the way through the credits).

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Connections

References Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

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Soundtracks

Love Theme from Spartacus
Written by Alex North
Performed by Terry Callier

User Reviews

Laughed and cried in the same breath

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.)