Intouchables, Grenoble

“Intouchables” directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano (1h 52m) in French with English subtitles

“Following a paragliding accident, Philippe, a rich aristocrat, hires Driss, a young man from the suburbs just released from prison, as a home helper… In short, the least suitable person for the job. Together they will make Vivaldi and Earth Wind and Fire coexist, the word and the joke, the costumes and the tracksuit bottoms… Two universes will telescope, tame each other, to give birth to a friendship as crazy, funny and strong as unexpected, a unique relationship that will spark and make them… Untouchable.” — Synopsis

“It is possible to summarize the experience of watching “The Intouchables” in nine words: You will laugh; you will cry; you will cringe. The caricatures are astonishingly brazen, as ancient comic archetypes — a pompous master and a clowning servant right out of Molière — are updated with vague social relevance, an overlay of Hollywood-style sentimentality and a conception of race that might kindly be called cartoonish.” — The New York Times