Samba (2014 film)
Samba is a 2014 French comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. It is their second collaboration with actor Omar Sy following "The Intouchables" (2012). The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2014. It was released theatrically in France on 15 October 2014, before receiving a limited theatrical release in the United States on 24 July 2015. Premise. Samba Cissé (Sy), a migrant from Senegal to France, works as a dish washer in a hotel. After a bureaucratic slip-up lands him in detention, he is  ordered to leave France. With the help of a businesswoman (Charlotte Gainsbourg), he fights to stay in France. Reception. The review aggregation website "Rotten Tomatoes" gives the film an approval rating of 61% based on 66 reviews and an average score of 5.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads, ""Samba" isn't the finest effort from directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, but the film's shortcomings are partly balanced by its big heart and talented cast." On "Metacritic", which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the film has a score of 53  based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Peter Debruge of "Variety" called the film "A highly polished, widely appealing big-budget French movie." He praised Sy's performance, writing, "If nothing else, the pic cements Sy's position as one of France's most magnetic screen personalities, even more compelling to watch in serious scenes than in the obligatory comedic bits." Jordan Adler gave the film a positive review in "We Got This Covered", saying, "The immigrant's struggle is brought to pulsating life in Samba, which works best as an affecting and amusing star vehicle for Omar  Sy." However, Jordan Mintzer of "The Hollywood Reporter" criticized the film's plot: "The film's message is lost amid too many plot contrivances." He concluded that it is "another crowdpleasing social dramedy from the makers of ""Intouchables"", though one that wears out its welcome without bringing its message home." Mark Adams from "Screen Daily" in his review said that it is a "well-meaning and occasionally joyous film that is ultimately too scattershot in its format and tone to really work".