The lead in The Intouchables is a French actor named Francois Cluzet, but if you know him, you may know him as the man who looks EXACTLY like Dustin Hoffman. If you are like me and have never heard of him, look him up online and prepare to be overwhelmed by the striking resemblance. Cluzet stars as a wealthy quadriplegic named Philippe who hires the unlikeliest of personal caretakers, a wayward ruffian named Driss, played with tremendous charm and flair by Omar Sy. Philippe is tired of having medical assistants who shower him with pity and condolences. It is time to hire someone with an attitude, someone with no medical background, someone who will often forget about Philippe's physical limitations. That person is Driss, a 20-something man from the French projects who goes into the interview to obtain the last remaining signature he needs in order to be eligible to collect unemployment. After he is hired, what follows is a deeply affecting friendship between two men who enter one another's lives at precisely the right time. What a thing to behold.
This film is simply fantastic. It was originally released in France in 2011, but didn't make its way to the United States until it traveled the festival circuit in 2012. I've had my eye on it for a while now and jumped at the opportunity to see it while having dinner in the courtyard of a terrific French restaurant around the corner from my house (Bistrot La Minette). I found out that they play French movies once a week outside under the stars. It was such a great night.
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