Amira & Sam

I enjoyed this movie a lot. I found it to be refreshing that a movie about a veteran doesn't descend into the jingoism so common in American movies about soldiers. I found the speed at which the romance developed to be unrealistically fast, but otherwise I found it quite believable.

Sadly, somebody attached to the movie felt it was appropriate to generate 39 fake reviews. It is possible that some are not fake, but when a review is posted _before_ the movie has been released, that's pretty bad. Normally, I wouldn't mention this because it seems like all movie companies do this on IMDb, but I've never seen such a high proportion of fakes for any other movie.

The fact that someone paid someone to place 20 fake reviews on IMDb with 10 star ratings is bad practise and IMDb should not allow it. Made me hesitant to watch it, because if the owner of this project doesn't believe in it, should I? .

About the movie. Take away all political correctness (and what is up with these people feeling offended). Let us run this against the Romcom/Bollywood clichelist:✓ Angry defensive girl, meets friendly naive guy, ✓opposite attracts, ✓A dramatic event brings them together.✓Love conquers all. Yup, seems to be all there. Is is bad? No it's no bad at all.

It's a romcom so no there is no fact checking for every event and some things are done for the cuteness factor. All together it is a nice watch and if the girl wasn't Muslim and the boy was Joseph Gordon-Levitt we'd be having this by the spoonful and declare it the indie 500 days of Summer.

We recently saw this film at the Napa Film Festival and thought it was not only the best movie in the festival but also one of the best movies we saw in 2014. If you have not seen it yet, put it on your "must see" list.

The story is a wonderful love story, complete with the strings tugging at your heart and the joy of seeing two people fall in love in current times. At first, Amira and Sam do not seem likely to form any sort of relationship but soon their true selves emerge, they learn how to communicate and respect each other, like and then love each other.

Writing a screenplay about a balanced, heartwarming and honest movie about a current veteran and an illegal immigrant is not easy, but Sean Mullin nailed it. The cast selection was also suburb - you will be wondering "Where did they find the woman who plays Amira?" She is simply terrific. New York, of course, plays itself.

And by the way, I don't agree with some of the other reviews saying that the movie incorrectly portrays Iraqi/Muslim women. I saw Amira as a smart, fiercely independent, strong and caring woman.

Sam and Amira is extremely well done and touches on the issues of Immigration, and re- entry of our soldiers coming back from war. It is also a love story that develops in a very nice and complex way thru the movie. Martin Starr in his first leading man role does a fantastic job and is very believable. His character has a moral code that he sticks to even though he is given numerous opportunity and reason to trade against his values. Amira who is played by Dina Shihabi does a phenomenal job in her first leading role as the reluctant love interest while dealing with her own immigration challenges and discrimination coming from all sides. Paul Wesley is great as a Wall Street type working on the edges of the system trying to help/use his cousin to further his own ambitions. The movie is written and directed by Sean Mullin who himself is a West Point graduate and served this country at Ground Zero. He does a masterful job telling this story with all it's complexities and adding humor as the movie is very funny. Especially the back and forth between Sam and Amira. I saw the Premier at the Seattle Film Festival.

Caught the world premiere at the Seattle Film Festival. The cast and crew were fantastic. Not only is the acting and directing top notch, but the production value is second-to-none.

Film provided a unique POV on veteran and immigration issues. Moments of unexpected humor and touching emotional echoes of war immediately hook you in.

Film also did an excellent job tackling contemporary issues without a heavy hand. Mullin forces the audience to look at America in a post 9/11 world and, perhaps more importantly, at ourselves as Americans.

This is the standard for independent film. 87 minutes that are well worth your time.