Synopsis
Samba migrated to France 10 years ago from Senegal, and has since been plugging away at various lowly jobs. Alice is a senior executive who has recently undergone a burnout. 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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Cast
- Omar SySamba Cissé
- Charlotte GainsbourgAlice
- Tahar RahimWalid aka Wilson
- Izïa HigelinManu
- Issaka SawadogoJonas Karanoto
- Hélène VincentMarcelle
- Youngar FallLamouna, Samba's uncle
- Christiane MilletMadeleine
- Jacqueline JehanneufMaggy
- Liya KebedeMagali aka 'Gracieuse'
Recommendations
- 80
New York Daily News
With the tender love story, charming comedy and underlying point of shared humanity all getting equal standing, directors Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache earn the benefit of the doubt. You won’t be bored. - 80
New York Daily News
With the tender love story, charming comedy and underlying point of shared humanity all getting equal standing, directors Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache earn the benefit of the doubt. You won’t be bored. - 70
Variety
Running a full reel longer than needed, the film’s balance of romance, humor and pathos starts to slip in the final stretch... though the emotional notes ring true. - 70
Variety
Running a full reel longer than needed, the film’s balance of romance, humor and pathos starts to slip in the final stretch... though the emotional notes ring true. - 63
Slant Magazine
Even as Samba struggles to hold onto his identity, the film becomes entangled in an identity crisis of its own. - 63
Slant Magazine
Even as Samba struggles to hold onto his identity, the film becomes entangled in an identity crisis of its own. - 60
The Telegraph
Sy is such an attentive listener in close-up that you instantly grasp the frazzled Alice’s attraction; if she’s less well defined, Gainsbourg’s nervy intelligence and clenched-jaw resistance to sentimentality hold the interest nevertheless. - 60
Time Out London
Both actors are tremendous. Sy adds powerful dramatic shading to his usual irresistible charm, while Gainsbourg hints at a sunnier disposition beneath her volatile nervousness.
