Les Intouchables - starring Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy. Directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano. Length 112 minutes. In French with English subtitles.
Driss is a big black man from Sengal who's poor. Philippe is a paralyzed French invalid who's rich. Driss, played by Omer Sy, ends up taking care of Philippe, played by Francois Cluzet.
In 'The Intouchables' they argue, smoke dope, fly in Philippe's private plane, wisecrack, and go to operas and art galleries together. This is a French version of how folks from the opposite ends of the social spectrum, can bond together. It's a Gallic feel good flick, an interacial buddy film.
"I feel nothing," Philippe says to Driss. "But I suffer anyway."
Soon Driss frees Philippe from his uptight rich ways, and the movie ends on a happy note. In the background, of course, lie millions of coloured French poor people. Like Driss, they live in overcrowded high rises, stacked on top of each other.
In 2004 and 2005, these coloured poor people rioted across France. Woody Allen sort of missed this in his ode to France called 'Midnight in Paris'. But Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, who co-directed 'Les Intouchables' or 'The Intouchables' are optimists. In this film they look on the bright side of life.
Rich and poor, they're pointing out, black and white, can live together in peace and harmony. The odds are weighted against this outcome. But who knows? "I hope the message of 'The Intouchables' is right," I said after watching the film. In any case this is an easy film to watch.
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