Santa Barbara International Film Festival
In Competition For The Best Feature International Fiction
World Premiere, February 2 2014
The product of divorced parents, seven-year-old Sam is surprisingly wise, an attentive child caught in conflict beyond his years. While his mother travels to work in Paris, Sam is sent to stay with his father, a deeply troubled man whose life is fraying at the edges. With dishes piled high in the sink and his apartment a disaster, Sam's father Gérôme is struggling with something more severe than simply writing his novel on a deadline.
We follow Sam as he narrows his eyes and assesses his father’s pitfalls. Driving the film with his sincere and comical commentary, Sam is perceptive yet naïve, bringing fresh insight to the adult world he attempts to untangle. Through his constant explosions and clashes with Gérôme, Sam asks what we are curious to know, causing Gérôme to rise to the occasion and look inward, where he might discover why he can't seem to manage the complications and disarray within his own life.
We follow Sam as he narrows his eyes and assesses his father’s pitfalls. Driving the film with his sincere and comical commentary, Sam is perceptive yet naïve, bringing fresh insight to the adult world he attempts to untangle. Through his constant explosions and clashes with Gérôme, Sam asks what we are curious to know, causing Gérôme to rise to the occasion and look inward, where he might discover why he can't seem to manage the complications and disarray within his own life.
A remarkable performance from the young Sacha Guerreiro (Sam) illuminates a darker narrative, one of a dissolved marriage and a spiraling, alcoholic writer with no source of inspiration. Stunningly shot by Leandro Monti and scored through the classical talents of Nicolas Rabaeus, SAM allows us to take a moment to sift through the life of a child torn between parents, to gain perspective, to take a step away, and to consider the impact of alcoholism and negligence.
SBIFF
