Having seen it come highly recommended on an Internet forum, and having enjoyed more foreign films than I've hated, Intouchables was a film I was determined to watch, but I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into.
The synopsis reads:
From this, the audience isn't exactly imagining a particularly enjoyable film, however what unravels on-screen is perhaps one of the best films I've seen in years. Francois Cluzet plays Philippe, the quadriplegic, while Omar Sy plays his helper Driss, an unlikely pairing as both are seemingly unwilling to open up to the other or indeed try to enjoy one another's company, seeing it as more of a chore than an experience.After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caretaker.
Sometimes, writing a positive review is harder than a negative one, because this is a film which needs to be seen to be understood. The more time they spend with each other, the more Driss learns about Philippe's life; his loves, his pet peeves, his favourite food, his preferred genre of music. The more time the two spend together, the more they start to appreciate one another, and try to improve each other's life. All the while, the audience grows to not only find happiness in what's happening on screen, but also take joy and comfort in this seemingly untouchable relationship. It would be a great injustice for me to spoil any part of the film, because it is something that needs to be taken in as one huge helping of perfection.
It's not a film that would normally light the world of cinema on fire, it's not technically special, but it's a film that stands out as offering a visual and emotional gift to the world; a world full of pain, anguish and ugly failed comedies and blockbusters. Intouchables never tries too hard, never steps out of line, and never expects you to laugh, smile or cry. It does what it sets out to do, and does it exceptionally.
It is marvelous.
9/10
