Amira & Sam

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.

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.

This film insulting Muslim women !! And insulting Iraqi women !! It seems that the aim is to tarnish the image of Islamic headscarf! Those who made the film, Are they from the first world countries, as they say ?! Where is the science and knowledge that they claim! Before you talk about the habits and traditions of others, you should learn it first and look out for it in the books then, do what your conscience dictates you! Any Arab Muslim woman will not do anything like the fake personalty in this film, She will never wear the headscarf in this way if she want to wear short pants and reveal her arms until the shoulders! this film reflect your naivety and silliness! it's disgusting

I'm not into romantic comedies, but I caught this movie at the Woodstock Film Festival and was blown away. The characters are all treated with respect and compassion. The dialog and timing are spot on and typical preconceptions about combat vets and Iraqi refugees are effectively challenged. Sam, the recently discharged vet, is presented as a real person trying to adjust to civilian life not a macho or tortured stereotype. Amira, the Iraqi refugee and niece of Sam's Iraqi translator, is charming and vulnerable under her tough veneer. The actors, Martin Starr (Sam), Dina Shihabi (Amira), Laith Nakli (Amira's uncle) and Paul Wesley (Sam's cousin), are all well-cast and excellent. The chemistry between Sam and Amira is effective. Director- Screenwriter, Sean Mullin, has done an outstanding job in his first feature film.

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.