Sam - Una vita da sassone

I couldn't wait to watch all the episodes of Sam - A Saxon.

It was worth the wait. An emotional story is told that so many of us can relate to.

What makes it so special is that it's based on a true story.

They have chosen a super cast! I especially loved little Sam - played by Elyas Eldridge. Of course, grown-up Sam was good too.

You can really put yourself in the character's shoes. Some scenes brought tears to my eyes.

I don't want to give any spoilers. It's best to see for yourself. I loved everything about it.

I've decided to watch all the episodes again this weekend :-)

I can absolutely recommend watching it!!!!!

How is this getting such a good rating? The main actor did not sink his teeth into the role. Sorry for saying it. I heard great things about the series, watched it and the whole series focuses around a guy who's lived a pretty astonishing life, but the actor gives me practically no growth or transformation. He plays the same guy from beginning to end, even though the things he goes through must have had an effect on him, which it even says in the breakdown of the book.

In the beginning of the movie the actor playing Sam is supposed to be 20, but the actor, Malick Bauer looks just as old as the person the book is based on looks right now.

When you create an autobiographical piece based on a single person, the production falls or thrives with the actor portraying that role. Sadly Malick Bauer failed to make the character believable or likeable.

I love the actual themes the movie addresses and what the actor actually goes through, even going as far as picking a questionable profession early on in the series, considering his ethnicity. Great story. Disappointing acting and character development.

Why is the main actor so freaking huge? I met the real Samuel Meffire, and he's not that big or nearly as build as him.

There is this huge time jump, where they actually say, all Sam does now is train, but you see practically no difference between the Sam from 2 before that to this one. He looks just as ripped.

The fact that he was so super ripped in the beginning of the series made it hard to feel sorry for him. I'm not saying a big guy can't get pushed around, but the actor played this timid, stuttering guy where the look and what he was playing just didn't work well together. Sorry.

In episode 3 where he actually is supposed to be a strong and tough guy it starts making sense, I wish the actor would have been more disciplined and would have gone the extra mile to show us a physical difference between "early getting pushed around Sam" and late "I can beat anybody in a fight Sam."

It's worth watching, because it's a true story and the man's life is truly interesting.

But the acting is mediocre. Sound is mediocre. Most songs really didn't resonate with me at all. Cinematography is pretty good. Nice camerawork. Great sets. Wardrobe works. Fantastic story, but not so great dialogues.

A lot of the jokes seemed forced and a lot of old jokes were just reused rather than come up with new things to say. Like the whole coconut thing. They've used that in so many movies already, at least put a new spin on it if you have to use an old joke.

There was a lot of filler, that did not seem meaningful to the story or the main character. It seemed like the producers wanted to stretch a movie into a series.

Just my personal opinion.

As an Afro-German I cannot stress enough how important this story and series is to me. Far too often black narratives are pushed aside in this country and this show is one great example on how to change the view society has on black communities and to amplify black voices and stories.

Congrats to the whole team for creating an outstanding piece of art (in comparison to other German shows)! Can't wait to see what's next for the actors (esp. Malick Bauer) and creators that made this project come to life.

Also: Do yourself a favor and watch it in original language with subtitles as the dubbed version doesn't do it justice!