The Intouchables

I have no hesitation in giving this all five stars, even if it is a purpose-made product, full of cliché and the right type of humanity. It flows past pleasantly, always something happening, and even above average in terms of acting. The customary French tempo has left the handbrake on, so in fact it rolls on just right for us to be able to appreciate the millionaire’s attributes... The Maserati, the great bath tub. I agree that sooner than later we’ll see an American remake. (05/04/2012)

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... (28/05/2012)

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." (04/11/2012)

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)

A comedy built on contrasts of the characters’ respective natures and the setting and which more or less just mulls over the idea of also being a social drama. The film outright plays it safe. The plot is regularly livened up with minor conflicts and the montage sequences prevent it from becoming too slow and boring so as not to repel viewers. The comedic lightening-up of the situation only occasionally gets out of control (the dance scene resembling a music video) and disrupts the pleasant cruising on the surface of harmless images. It’s still unrivalled as a cure for crises of all types. 75% (07/06/2012)