“The Intouchables”-a film of true humanity
“The Intouchables”-a film of true humanity The movie, “The Intouchables”, is based upon a true story, and real characters. It’s a story about two unlikely people who end up connected in a way only reality could conjure up. I had seen this movie once in 2012. But after I attended this class, I decided to watch it again because there are four elements in the movie that are related to what we are learning: disability, ethnicity, class, and culture differences. After watching the movie, I gained more understanding due to what we had learned in class. Philippe, a rich aristocrat who lives in a luxurious house in Paris, owns the money which can buy almost everything in the world. Unfortunately, he has a horrible accident while paragliding, leaving him paralyzed for the rest of his life. You can imagine how desperate he could be as a powerful, independent man now in a state of relying on another person for everything. In the last resort, he started to interview candidates for the position of his caretaker but failed to find the right one for a long time. Unexpectedly, Driss, an adopted child from Senegal and an ex-convict, cuts the line of the interviewees with an impatient and rude attitude. He brings a document from the Social Security and asks Phillipe to sign it to prove that he is seeking a job to receive his unemployment insurance. Philippe challenges Driss to be his caretaker and offers a period of adaptation of one week. Afterward Driss could decide whether he would like to stay with him or not. Driss accepts the bet and moves to the mansion, changing the boring life of Phillipe. Although Driss is rude, robust and outspoken, somehow there seems to be a connection with Phillipe. Driss initially chafes at some ‘special requirements’ of the job, but soon he learns how to look after this wealthy man unreservedly, physically and emotionally even though he lacks in experience in caretaking and moral ethics. Inevitably he becomes not