Sam - Ein Sachse

Sam is an utterly engaging thrill ride that takes you into he heart of East Germany and reunification - through the perspective of a Black man who experiences a totally different version of history from what we're used to reading about the time. The acting is amazing and the direction is right on, the pacing is great and the whole thing just comes together in a really moving story.

Malick Bauer especially stands out as Sam - I can't believe he hasn't been scooped up by Hollywood yet. Like another review here says, make sure to watch it in the orignial with subtitles. You miss all the great performances if it"s dubbed.

I find it hard to feel for the protagonist. Not just because I don't think he's a great actor, even though he had some good moments in the series, but my biggest problem lies in the physical aspect of things.

He is bigger and looks stronger than anybody else in the series. So even when a group of people jump him, that all look like twigs next to him, I don't feel like he's in any real danger.

This could have been fixed very easily, by simply casting at least some actors and stunt guys who don't weigh 30kg less than him.

I like the tempo and feel of the series, but towards the end it becomes a little less interesting.

For me the series really takes off in episode 3. Maybe I am just too young to care for the whole historical, political fall of the wall situation, but the bond that is established between him and - sorry, I almost spoilered. The bond he establishes in episode 3 makes the whole series worth watching and interesting. A lot happens between the lines, which is great. It is pretty well written.

The cinematography is for German standards very good.

I must say, the only issue I really had was with the main actor. I didn't quite get a lot of his acting decisions or facial expressions at times, but other than that, it was a good watch.

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!

Great series, great story, very interesting and well told.

The dubbing is horrible. I don't know why there was no emphasis placed on the dubbing, but I'll disregard the dubbing for my rating.

I felt like Malick Bauer was trying so hard to use these facial expressions, where he smiles even though he is hurting on the inside, but they didn't connect with me, because they were just all over the place and not meaningful in those moments, especially because he overuses them. In episode 4 or 5 he is walking this girl home and he does that constantly, then has this major outburst and goes back to the grinning. I know what he was trying to do it, but he just overacted badly and he tends to do that a lot in the series. Which is sad, because he seems to have potential. I think this role was just too big for him to carry.

Contrary to the other comments, I don't get the whole problem with him being well build and being such a helpless nerd. I know a lot of gym nerds. What I did find irritating is the fact that the actor often just runs through some dialogues, which makes him hard to understand in German, even for a German person.

If the main actor was better this series could have easily been a rewatchable 7 because the story is so intriguing. I am really torn between giving it a 5 or a 6, but I'm going to go with the 6 because I love the fact that this was made.