Intouchables is a French foreign language film starring Omar Sy and François Cluzet.
The film follows Cluzet, who
plays a wealthy disabled man interviewing candidates to be his caregiver, and Sy who ultimately lands the position in unorthodox fashion.
Intouchables goes on to tell a comedic story full of thrills,
spills and surprises.
The film touches on important themes relating to the
caregiving industry and differing social class dynamics.
Synopsis
Phillipe lives a life of luxury. As a successful businessman
he has all the money any man could ever need. However, a freak paragliding
accident leaves him seriously injured. So serious in fact, that he becomes
paralysed from the neck down.
He then returns to his Parisian mansion with his personal
assistant in tow, in a motorized wheelchair.
Now disabled, Philipe has to live with a caregiver. Leading
to him and his assistant putting out an ad where they soon start to interview
applicants.
After boring interview after boring interview, in comes a man named
Driss. He’s not what one would expect to fit the stereotypical mould of a
caregiver.
He stands well over six feet, carries a muscular frame and is in no
way delicate, nor gentle. He barges into the room, tired of waiting and demands
Phillipe sign a social security document outlining that he is looking for work,
so he can get his unemployment benefits.
Clearly shocked and taken aback, the old man and his
assistant are beside themselves. They don’t know how to react to this strange
man in front of them. Just as the assistant is about to call the police,
Philipe surprises both his assistant and Driss. He offers him the job.
He challenges Driss to be his caregiver for one month. After
some speculation, Driss agrees to the terms and is given the breakdown on
everything going on in Philippe’s life by the assistant.
Driss soon moves into
the mansion and is thrown into a completely different world. One of
aristocracy, waiters, expensive wine and a boss who takes most of it for
granted.
The remainder of the film follows the two men as Driss
attempts to become a caregiver for the older man over the course of the month.
Despite the two having so many differences, the film goes on to depict some
hilarious scenes as well as a host of scenes of sincerity and shared respect.
How will it all end? Well, that’s for you to find out.
Important Themes
Intouchables is actually based on a true story.
In 1993, Philippe
Pozzo di Borgo suffered a injury as a result of a paragliding accident in the
Swiss Alps. Resulting in him being hospitalized for two years, becoming
paralyzed. At the same time, his wife also died of cancer.
Driss’ character’s real name is Abdel Sellou, a middle-aged
Arab man who ended up writing Philippe Pozzo di Borgo's memoirs, which became the
inspiration for the film.
Intouchables tells a story of human connection and overcoming
obstacles. Both men (in the film and in real life) went through entirely
different ordeals in their lifetimes. But in coming together, they became close
friends despite coming from two very different worlds with different
values.
Interestingly enough, 5% of the total profits from the film
were donated to the Association Simon of Cyrene - 15rue de Suffren, an organization that creates shared living
spaces for disabled adults.
Today across Europe, thousands of people work in the
caregiving industry, serving the needs of thousands of more disabled adults. It’s
not easy living with disabilities (contrasting the ease seen in Intouchables
for example). Severe hardships come with living with a disability,
where every day has more challenges.
In addition, the people working as caregivers
themselves work through many issues. Ranging from low pay, understaffed
hospitals, under resourced facilities and problems with employee trade unions. Some
of which issues are described in this article by Alliance Vita.
There are also issues with healthcare that we must take note
of going forward into the future.
Estimates hold that by the year 2060, there
will be over 44.4 million adults over the age of 65 living in Europe with disabilities. Resulting in many in the medical world policing for more structural
change now for the future.
For more information on Europe’s elder care
crisis, feel free to read this report from the Global Coalition On Aging.
Conclusion
Intouchables is a fantastic film. I still remember it as one of
my favourite French films (along with Un Prophète).
Intouchables tells a wonderful story of humanity and humility.
Bringing so much together with a great script. And providing a fun and comedic
journey that will surely wear on your emotions.
I highly recommend
you to watch Intouchables, if you haven’t already. It is one of the best
stories out there.
(And yes, I am aware that they created an Americanized adaptation
of the film called The Upside - with Kevin Hart. Please pass up on watching that one. As I always say, enjoy the original version).
