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... (27/05/2012)

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 (09/03/2012)

The best French film I've ever seen (though admittedly I haven't seen many of them). Comedy and drama in one, each component properly balanced. At the end of the film I was completely satisfied, happy, and moved. I saw the film without knowing what I was getting into, without looking at the ratings on FilmBooster, so I was very surprised to find it so well rated. A nice non-exploitative human drama with all the aspects of humanity that only these two can have. P.S.: I almost peed myself laughing at the beard shaving. (02/04/2012)

This is one of the series of nice and positive movies that doesn’t follow the templates and negative atmosphere of contemporary movies but that tells a true story that you will keep taking with a pinch of salt, all the while knowing that the movie is really close to the truth. It was really a pleasure to watch this film, both actors put in really excellent performances. Omar Sy was maybe slightly better. His acting reminded me of a 1980’s Eddie Murphy. It was great, finally a movie that I will watch every time I get the chance and I will know that I won’t easily be bored with it. It came out of the blue and it immediately hit me right in the feels. I tip my hat off. (08/03/2013)

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. (02/05/2018)