The Intouchables
(France, 112 min.)
Written and directed by Olivier Nakache and Olivier Toledano
Starring:
François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot
The French mega-hit The
Intouchables is a true crowd pleaser. It’s easy to see how it became the
most widely seen film in France for 2011, and France’s second biggest box
office hit of all time. The first is 2008’s Bienvenue
chez les Ch’tis. Ch’tis is
charming, but it’s as dumb as a brick. It’s the French Porky’s, if you will. (In a PG-13 kind of way.) Regardless, Intouchables is a better piece of cinema
than Ch’tis is, so it’s no wonder
that this buddy comedy has gone on to become the highest grossing non-English
language film of all time. And it’s not even in 3-D!
As Driss begins his job with Philippe, The Intouchables shows an obvious case where worlds collide as the
young man moves from the banlieues of
Paris (housing projects on the outskirts of town) to a Versailles-like
apartment in the heart of the city. Poverty meets privilege, but the sudden
onset of class and comfort don’t overwhelm Driss. He earnestly takes to the job
of being Philippe’s caregiver and assistant.
The two men have an instant rapport, as their obviously
dissimilar personal histories offer them each an air of novelty. Both Driss and
Philippe are outsiders, though, so they eventually come to see each other as
equals and their relationship evolves into one that is mutually beneficial
rather than the archaic master-servant roles. One might feel a bit uneasy at
first in watching this story of the encounter with the “other”, but Driss is
hardly the cliché-ridden mythical black man like, say, Bagger Vance. I might
have liked this story better in the 1980s when it was called Driving Miss Daisy, but the fact that
the social roles in contemporary France seem much like those of a 1989 period
film might tell viewers a lot about the country’s (unofficial) attitude towards
multiculturalism.
There is something problematic in the portrayal of race in The Intouchables, but the film is based
on a true story, after all, so this is one of those cases where it’s hard to
fault actual events. It’s especially difficult to criticize the film because
this true story is dramatized so well, primarily by actors Cluzet and Sy. Sy in
particular shines in his breakthrough role as Driss. (Sy won the French César
for his performance, besting Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin.) Even if the film only
skirts the surface of Driss’s social situation, The Intouchables certainly shows a side of Paris that appears in
few films.
The film’s heart is undoubtedly in the right place and it’s
impossible to deny the sense of joie de
vivre that one gets from the life lessons taught by this odd couple. It's a heart-warming tale of second chances. The Intouchables is full
of good-natured humour, and it offers a clear message of humanity and compassion. Simplified
or not, The Intouchables is feel-good
fun for everyone.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
The Intouchables screened in Ottawa at The Mayfair.
