DVD release/available to stream
*****
Attending a job interview so that he can claim his benefit, Driss unexpectedly ends up being hired by an aristocrat quadriplegic, Philippe. After transferring from the projects to his new employer's stately home, an unlikely relationship blossoms the two men, who discover they have much to learn from one another.
Life is rarely black and white: usually we navigate a world that is differing shades of grey, and nowhere is that bittersweet balance captured more than in The Intouchables. Based on a true story, it focuses on the growing friendship between a man who has everything and yet cannot move, Philippe (Francois Cluzet) and another who has spent their life in the projects and yet bubbles with an undeniable lust for life, Driss (Omar Sy). Although both their lives have been touched by tragedy, both men are able to find humour and joy in the everyday. Admittedly somewhat light on plot (there is no real beginning, middle and end), this French-language film acts as an extended character study, observing the touching, often hilarious, interactions between two very different men. Accompanied by Ludovico Einaudi's unmistakable caress of the piano keys and expertly shot in both close-up and wide frame by cinematographer Mathieu Vadepied, each scene makes for an emotive character study, subtly revealing a trait of our central duo. Peppered with moments of revelation and realisation, it never crosses into melodrama or escalates into something saccharine - it simply acts as a reminder that out of unfairness and sadness can come happiness, usually quite unexpectedly.
As joyous as it is thought-provoking and as life-affirming as it is tear-jerking, this wonderfully tender yet insightful story about two men who would never have met if tragedy had not occurred is undoubtedly a new favourite of mine. Proof that humour can be found in even the most difficult of circumstances, it's one of those rare films that leaves you feeling hopeful and happy, if a little tearful. Seek it out.
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