The Intouchables (, ), also known as Untouchable in the UK and Ireland, is a 2011 French buddy comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. It stars François Cluzet and Omar Sy. The plot of the film is inspired by the true story of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his French-Algerian caregiver Abdel Sellou, discovered by the directors in À la vie, à la mort, a documentary film.
Nine weeks after its release in France on 2 November 2011, it became the biggest box office hit in France, just passing the 2008 film Welcome to the Sticks. The film was voted the cultural event of 2011 in France with 52% of votes in a poll by Fnac. Until it was eclipsed in 2014 by Lucy, it was the most viewed French film in the world with 51.5 million tickets sold. The film received several award nominations. In France, the film won the César Award for Best Actor for Sy and garnered seven further nominations for the César Awards, including the César Award for Best Actor for Cluzet. Five percent of the movie's profit were given to Simon de Cyrène, an association that helps paralyzed people.
Plot
At night in Paris, Driss is driving Philippe's Maserati Quattroporte at high speed. Chased through the streets by the police, they are eventually cornered. Driss claims the quadriplegic Philippe must get to the emergency room urgently; Philippe pretends to have a seizure and the fooled police officers escort them. After arriving at the hospital, Driss drives away.
The story of friendship between the two men is then told as a flashback: Philippe, a wealthy quadriplegic owner of a luxurious hôtel particulier, and his assistant Magalie are interviewing potential live-in caregivers. Driss has no ambitions to get hired; he is only waiting to get a signature on a document proving his interview was rejected, in order to continue receiving his benefits. He is told to come back the next morning to collect his signed document.
The next day when Driss returns, Philippe's aide Yvonne greets him, telling him he has the job on a trial basis. Despite being uninterested and inexperienced, he does well caring for Philippe, albeit using unconventional methods. Driss learns the extent of his employer's disability, aiding Philippe in every aspect of his life. A friend of Philippe's reveals that Driss was imprisoned for six months for robbery, but Philippe does not care about Driss's past. As Driss is the only one who does not treat Philippe with pity, he will not fire Driss as long as he does his job properly.
Philippe explains his disability resulted from a paragliding incident and that his wife died without bearing children. Gradually, Driss helps him to organise his private life, including disciplining his precocious adopted daughter Elisa. Driss discovers modern art, opera and starts painting. For Philippe's birthday, a private classical music concert is performed in his living room. Philippe educates Driss on famous classical pieces, but Driss only recognizes them as advert music or cartoon themes. Feeling the concert is too boring, Driss plays Earth, Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland", livening up the party, with the guests also enjoying the music.
Discovering Philippe has a purely epistolary relationship with a woman called Eléonore who lives in Dunkirk, Driss encourages his employer to meet her, but Philippe fears her reaction when she discovers his disability. Driss persuades him to talk to her by phone. Philippe agrees to send a photo of himself in a wheelchair to her, but he hesitates and asks his aide, Yvonne, to send a picture as he was before his accident. A date between them is agreed to, but at the last minute Philippe is too scared to meet Eléonore and leaves with Yvonne before she arrives. Philippe then calls Driss, inviting him to fly with him in his Dassault Falcon 900 private jet for a paragliding weekend in the Alps.
Driss's cousin, Adam, in trouble with a gang, comes to fetch Driss at the mansion on the pretext of delivering mail. Overhearing, Philippe recognizes Driss's need to be supportive to his family and releases him from his job, suggesting he may not want to push a wheelchair all his life.
Driss returns home, joins his friends and manages to help his cousin. In the meantime new caregivers have replaced Driss but Philippe is not happy with any of them. His morale is very low and he stops taking care of himself. He grows a beard and looks ill. Worried, Yvonne calls Driss back.