Untouchable

A pleasant dramatic comedy with likeable protagonists that here and there delivers some dark and incorrect jokes, but that in the end is nothing but your typical feel-good fairytale with a humanistic message, or a film that is in no way exceptional. And that’s why it has received so much attention, because its exceptionality cannot piss anyone off. It's just so generally likeable. 7/10 (09/03/2012)

A black angel in a bourgeois mansion. In America, African nannies teach middle-class children emotional completeness, in Britain, a Yemeni sheikh preaches to depressed heroes about the meaning of life, and in France, a Senegalese beanpole gives a quadriplegic millionaire the motivation to do things by turning the idyll of the rich people into a soft version of a Parisian suburb (at the same time, of course, he assimilates himself with the beauty of "high art"). If this isn't a midcult crucible with all the ingredients, then I'm a legless satyr. The Intouchables is related to both of these films by the fact that they are dead from the waist down (including the heart and balls), but after all, it burns them well enough so that one cannot hurt their feelings. It is cheerful, warm, sometimes even slightly beyond the edge of political correctness, but it is, as the Georgian Schnauzer would say, non-conflicting and wrapped in silk. The French know how to make these multi-cult ornaments, and the powerfully applauded work of the pair of directors has the beautiful feature that at least it doesn't force you to watch any clichéd social and political stereotypes (at least the philanthropic moneybags doesn't save the trailer trash from the ghetto), although that submissiveness to the middle taste is too much for my taste - in the end, it's actually something between a fairy tale and a comedy. I understand the high rating, unlike the dull poop called The Help... but similar emotional films just don’t work on me. P.S. Commissioner Cluzet is great... (27/05/2012)

I have no hesitation in giving this all five stars, even if it is a purpose-made product, full of cliché and the right type of humanity. It flows past pleasantly, always something happening, and even above average in terms of acting. The customary French tempo has left the handbrake on, so in fact it rolls on just right for us to be able to appreciate the millionaire’s attributes... The Maserati, the great bath tub. I agree that sooner than later we’ll see an American remake. (05/04/2012)

There’s no doubt this is a beautiful story that can make you fly, but perhaps (though the comparison is very exaggerated) compared to the similarly will-inducing Shawshank, it gets old fast and the initial enthusiasm wears thin. I still enjoy watching it more than most American comedies of the last few years, but I'd look elsewhere for undying cult-status. (02/05/2018)

There's a lack of insight, so it remains a very briskly shot and brilliantly humorous comedy. The French pulled their punches, fudged the script and avoided the clichéd philosophising in luminous Paris and classic gritty street stories. Intouchables is a fresh ride full of emotions and spontaneous improvisation of the main characters, without pathos and sentimentality. It's not reality, but neither is it beyond reality. A hit about right in the middle, with the heart in the right place. (29/07/2016)