it is simply perfection on screen..

The French film, The Intouchables, is a story that has a very natural way of delivering emotion. It’s based on a true story of friendships that grew unexpectedly. Going into the screening of the film, I never would’ve imagined how it drew me into the world that the characters find in their lives.

The film is written and directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano. It stars François Cluzet as Philippe, Omar Sy as Driss, and Audrey Fleurot as Magalie. The duo of Cluzet and Sy is playful and energetic. There is this chemistry that the film couldn’t have done without.

With Driss (Omar Sy) driving Philipe’s (François Cluzet) Maserati Quattroporte, the two speed off due to the congestion of the roads in to the night. The police give chase while they wager whether Driss can outrun them. When they finally get pulled over, Driss bets Philipe that he will not only avoid the ticket but get the police to escort them to their destination when he gets out of the car. An officer slams Driss onto the hood telling him that he’s under arrest and he tells them this wild story how they’re trying to get to the emergency room before his passengers dies. Suddenly, Philipe fakes a seizure to help with the story and the cops escort them to the hospital. After the officer’s leave them, they light up a cigarette and go on with their evening.

The story then rewinds to a group of men waiting to have an interview to be a caretaker to Philipe, a very wealthy man but there’s a catch: He’s in a quadriplegic who requires constant care and monitoring with a “live-in”. Driss is only there to get a signature saying he was physically there for interview to receive welfare benefits. He is interviewed by both Philipe with his personal assistant, Magalie (Audrey Fleurot), who Driss feels this instant attraction and doesn’t hide it at all. Driss is then told to come back the next day if he wants his signature.

Driss was living with his aunt who threw him out because he hasn’t spoken with her in months. So, now he’s homeless and the job doesn’t seem so bad. He returns the following morning and Philipe’s “team” gives him the rundown of all of the responsibilities that comes with caring for him. Driss is then put on a trial period to see if he stays.

It’s a very moving film filled with emotion, heartache, love, honesty, and most of all, friendship. The characters show each other experiences that never would’ve happened if they didn’t meet. Omar Sy does an excellent job playing Driss, pulling the right amount of an emotional thug from the streets and a sweet guy trying to show Philipe how to live. On the other hand, François Cluzet is an incredible actor and a totally believable quadriplegic. What makes him so talented is he has to do all of his acting from his neck up with his emotions on his face. The rest of the cast make the film complete with their performances as well.

Sony is completely successful with this blu-ray release in demonstrating how high definition is done. It’s transferred in 1080p AVC and every frame is perfect. Each scene regardless of the time of day in a scene are brilliant and it has spot-on contrasting. The colors leap off of the screen with a vibrance that is an excellent example of the media’s full potential. Also, the details in the many close ups during the film give the effect that the TV screen is a window into the story.

The DTS-HD Master Audio track is mixed with such care and precision, there is no arguing that it gets perfect marks. From the opening scene with the 2 leads speeding down the highway in the throaty exhaust of the Maserati Quattroporte to the beautiful piano score, there was never a moment where I wasn’t impressed. There is almost always sounds filling every channel and there aren’t any that get left out. The encode is so clean that is gives highs, mids, and lows a chance to shine.

The supplements on the release are very few. It would’ve been a nice little addition of a featurette with the real people from the story. In my opinion, the film wasn’t missing anything with the deleted scenes. Pacing and time were never an issue at all so keeping those scenes out were a good decision.

Supplements
Deleted Scenes
I know sarkozy
Want to split the tip?
Explaining art
Dress’s brother visits
Driss buys a bathtub

Edition Ratings
R

Disc Details
112 mins

Region Encode
Region A

Video Resolution
1080p AVC

Audio
French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles
English
English SDH
Spanish

I can’t say enough about this film. It’s a stunning blu-ray with a compelling story and it has definitely made it into my top five foreign films. Plus, the blu-ray is unarguably reference material as it is easily the best release I’ve seen so far this year. It tells the story in an organic way that feels so natural, it is simply perfection on screen. It has been a long time since a movie has struck something in me that made me empathize with the character. So, go buy it or rent it if you must but see this movie, I’m that confident.

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