The Intouchables

A black angel in a bourgeois mansion. In America, African nannies teach middle-class children emotional completeness, in Britain, a Yemeni sheikh preaches to depressed heroes about the meaning of life, and in France, a Senegalese beanpole gives a quadriplegic millionaire the motivation to do things by turning the idyll of the rich people into a soft version of a Parisian suburb (at the same time, of course, he assimilates himself with the beauty of "high art"). If this isn't a midcult crucible with all the ingredients, then I'm a legless satyr. The Intouchables is related to both of these films by the fact that they are dead from the waist down (including the heart and balls), but after all, it burns them well enough so that one cannot hurt their feelings. It is cheerful, warm, sometimes even slightly beyond the edge of political correctness, but it is, as the Georgian Schnauzer would say, non-conflicting and wrapped in silk. The French know how to make these multi-cult ornaments, and the powerfully applauded work of the pair of directors has the beautiful feature that at least it doesn't force you to watch any clichéd social and political stereotypes (at least the philanthropic moneybags doesn't save the trailer trash from the ghetto), although that submissiveness to the middle taste is too much for my taste - in the end, it's actually something between a fairy tale and a comedy. I understand the high rating, unlike the dull poop called The Help... but similar emotional films just don’t work on me. P.S. Commissioner Cluzet is great... (05/27/2012)

A new film that: 1) doesn't come from the UK or the US; 2) it still made it into Czech cinemas; 3) it doesn't have a single flaw? That hasn't happened in a long time. I mean... At least since The Artist. So cheers to France again! You just don't see something so beautiful on the big screen. "Do you know where you can find a quadriplegic?" - "I don't know." - "Where you left him." (11/03/2012)

An excellent, superbly dramatic, and well-crafted film about real life among paraplegics and similarly disabled individuals. Philippe belongs to that fraction of the population who can afford to live in a castle with plenty of staff, and in such an environment, paralysis is much more bearable than languishing in an institution with burnt-out staff who make it abundantly clear how much your mere physical existence irritates them, and who keep you perpetually in a state of miserable survival. However, such a truthful film would not offer so much heartwarming humor, interesting situations, and appealing characters. The mutual chemistry between caregiver Driss, a black plebeian from the outskirts, and the aristocratic upper-class Philippe is simply perfect and fully functional. The film not only explores the development of a great friendship but also interestingly tackles the clash of different cultures, social classes, and the eternal conflict between the so-called high elite culture and the popular culture of the masses. The Intouchables excellently fulfills both genres it represents. You laugh at these characters and at the same time, you are afraid for them. There is one thing more I need to criticize - the film's epilogue is unnecessarily literal, and here, I would have left a more or less open ending and room for the viewer's imagination. Overall impression: 90%. (06/13/2012)

A pleasant dramatic comedy with likeable protagonists that here and there delivers some dark and incorrect jokes, but that in the end is nothing but your typical feel-good fairytale with a humanistic message, or a film that is in no way exceptional. And that’s why it has received so much attention, because its exceptionality cannot piss anyone off. It's just so generally likeable. 7/10 (03/09/2012)

There’s no doubt this is a beautiful story that can make you fly, but perhaps (though the comparison is very exaggerated) compared to the similarly will-inducing Shawshank, it gets old fast and the initial enthusiasm wears thin. I still enjoy watching it more than most American comedies of the last few years, but I'd look elsewhere for undying cult-status. (05/02/2018)