Sammy y Rosie se lo montan

I think that for the movie to make any sense, you have to have some knowledge of what's going on politically, culturally, historically, etc. Most of the detractors I've seen appear not to know the background. It's set during Thatcher's time in England. Sammy and Rosie are a hip urban couple. Their politics are progressive, and they live in a rough, racially mixed area of London. Sammy's father, once an important politician in his home country, has come to the London of his youth to retire; he'd gone to school there. His arrival upsets the balance of earnestness and hypocrisy in their lives.

One of the reasons I love movie is that no one gets off the hook-- it's challenging. People who seem politically correct and sincere have gaping flaws when their surface is scratched.

It's got one of my favorite scenes and lines ever. Sammy's father Rafi visits his great unrequited love Alice, played by the great Claire Bloom, and consummates his love, but she ultimately lambasts him, telling him he could have had her, but instead he must "content (himself) with having introduced flogging for minor offenses, nuclear capability and partridge-shooting into your country."

Stephen Frears intended for this film to make war on the politics of Margaret Thatcher, which he believed were responsible for a breakdown of English society. The film touches upon all of the major issues of England in the 1980s, some would say without covering any of them sufficiently. The figures of Sammy, Rosie, Anna, and Danny (or Victoria, as he calls himself) do their best to come to grips with the world around them, while Rafi and Alice, members of an older generation, can do little more than observe and mourn. Rosie's lesbian friends look at her lifestyle and pronounce: "This is liberalism gone mad", not realizing that she is merely living up to the egalitarianism they espouse. Some would have problems choosing a central character, but I choose Rosie. She is linchpin and catalyst, and at times utterly unreadable.

The movie is probably one of the best descriptions of conservative England in the 80's ever filmed. The accurate script, written by great novelist and play writer Hanif Kureishi is absolutely touching, and describe interracial relations is a raw way that I hardly ever seen. The characters are strong and clear, and the actors and actresses may be unknown for us -except Claire Bloom, of course- but some of them are great stars in India. What make the movie so strong is probably the simple but powerful story that tells a lot about human relations. Roland Gift shows himself a good actor as was a good singer in Fine Toung Cannibals. Many scenes are unforgettable, and the end is not only unexpected but shocking. The British cinema in the 80's appeared to pay more attention to people than their government, and "Sammy and Rosie..." is a good example of that. A great film from a team that deserved to be seen, Frears and Kureishi.

This biting social/sexual satire from the same team responsible for 'My Beautiful Laundrette' may be too comprehensive for its own good, ranging far and wide over Margaret Thatcher's England but never quite achieving the kaleidoscopic effect it strives for. Racial tension, sexual revolution, recreational drug abuse, and inner city violence (complete with police brutality) are all part of the interchangeable backdrop for its two unlikable title characters: a swinging London couple whose marriage is less open than they'd like to believe. The arrival of Sammy's father, a Pakistani politician with a secret, fascist background, is the hook on which writer Hanif Kureishi hangs his colorful but didactic screenplay (his characters too often trade clever observations and aphorisms instead of credible dialogue). The style of the film certainly shows plenty of kinetic energy, and repeat viewings help bring out some of the depth and compassion in the story and characters. But the self-consciously hip and trendy attitude doesn't sit well with such an unreal depiction of counter-culture idealism: cuddly ragamuffins in a fairy tale, open-air commune.

I was turned onto this movie having loved this directors previous film "My Beautiful Lundrette" and this became no exception to S.Fears wonderful ability to create a surreal social climate around the films primary characters.

Sammy is the two timing adulterous husband and Rosie is the cheating wife. They both know of the others affair's yet still can't seem to break off their marriage (a prime example of loving someone but not being in-love) of the two, Sammy wants most for them to "Love each other a Little more" as he state after finding out she recently slept with some guy who mysteriously shows up at his house after saving his father from the middle of a riot.

Oh, the father is also an intricate part of the story. the father(Rafi) comes into S&R life on a whim, stating that "I have some past issues that I need to get away from". Wanting only to rekindle some kind of relationship with is estranged son, Rafi couldn't have come at a worse time. Amidst, a social revolt, a descending marriage and a past that haunts him in the form of a dead worker, that through Rafi's actions had a hand in killing. He becomes vital in the end of the movie (that I won't spoil) and teaches S&R that amongst all the problems they face, it's never to late to try to change and find the true meaning of love.

A great film filled with great dialog and engaging characters