Here he plays the titular Samba, a hard-working illegal immigrant from Senegal who is informed by the French authorities that he must return home voluntarily or be deported. His plight forges an unexpected, often touching bond between him and Alice (Gainsbourg), a novice immigration official still slowly recovering from executive burnout.

Samba decides to go underground so that he can continue to earn money to send home to his family, and his ensuing adventures – involving Alice as well as a fellow illegal immigrant, Wilson (Rahim, A PROPHET, THE PAST) – add up to an ingenious and affecting hybrid of drama, comedy and romance.