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
Samba finds a much stronger rhythm when it stops contriving and simply shines a light on the joy and pain (and musical interludes) of lives lived in the margins
if it weren't for Sy's charm and cinematographer Stephane Fontaine's superb eye (the scenes set at the immigration detainee camp are especially evocative from a visual standpoint), Samba would be a total wash
