At the beginning of the last decade, French directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano presented ‘Untouchable’ (2011), a film that quickly became a cinematic mass phenomenon. Based on a true story, the plot follows the lives of Philippe, a quadriplegic aristocrat played by François Cluzet, and Driss, a young man of Senegalese origin recently released from prison, played by Omar Sy. The film tells how both characters, coming from completely different worlds, forge an unlikely but deeply moving friendship. Philippe, in desperation to find an assistant who can deal with his character and situation, hires Driss, who brings a freshness and perspective to his life that transforms his way of understanding the world. Through moments of humor and tenderness, ‘Untouchable’ shows us how friendship and humanity can thrive in the most unexpected circumstances. The film is currently available in the Prime Video catalog.
‘Untouchable’, which It swept movie theaters with more than 19 million spectators and $400 million collected worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing French film in the history of cinema. The film did not go unnoticed in the international awards and film festival circuit, being nominated at the 70th edition of the Golden Globes in the category of Best Foreign Language Film, where the Austrian film ‘Love’ (2012) finally won. by Michael Haneke. In addition, it also achieved a nomination at the BAFTA Awards for the same category. At the 27th edition of the Goya Awards, ‘Intocable’ was finally able to receive the award in the category of Best European Film, while at the César Awards gala, awarded by the French Film Academy, it received nine nominations, among which stand out those for Best Film and Best Director, however he could only win the award in the category of Best Leading Actor for Omar Sy.
In the technical section, the film stands out for its art direction and careful photography, which are able to capture the elegance of Philippe’s environment and the vibrant energy that Driss infects everyone around him. Special mention deserves Ludovico Einaudi’s score, which plays a crucial role, underlining the emotional moments with its melodic minimalism.. Nakache and Toledano’s direction is sensitive and precise, deftly balancing humor and drama without descending into maudlinness. The cast is another of the film’s strong points, with François Cluzet offering a restrained but powerful performance, while the immense work of Omar Sy makes his character shine thanks to his charisma and naturalness, creating an undeniable chemistry that drives the entire film. narrative.
To prepare for your role, François Cluzet spent time with a real quadriplegic to better understand the limitations and character of his character, which undoubtedly allowed him to access a level of immersion that helped him offer an authentic and respectful performance. Furthermore, during filming, the relationship between Cluzet and Sy became so close that many of the comedic moments we see in the film arose from their improvisation on the set.
Criticism of Fotogramas de ‘Intocable’ He stated that “it falls into that minority of films that seek a broad audience without resorting to unseemly tricks. On paper, this being a clearly commercial film, its stampede of important themes generates distrust: class difference, social integration, physical disability and racism. Too many issues that require adequate treatment so as not to give moralistic, effective or tear-jerking films. But Its directors and scriptwriters handle the combination well to explain the friendship between a quadriplegic millionaire and the black immigrant who takes care of him. The keys to the effectiveness of ‘Untouchable’ are an escape from compassion, careful writing of the characters and an extraordinary use of humor: the authors are not afraid of black comedy to relativize pain and speak shrewdly about human beings.”
