The Intouchables (French: Intouchables, pronounced [ɛ̃tuʃablə]), also called Untouchable in the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia, is a 2011 French comedy and drama movie written and directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. It features actors François Cluzet and Omar Sy. The movie’s story is based on the real-life experiences of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his French-Algerian caregiver, Abdel Sellou, which the directors learned about in a documentary called À la vie, à la mort.

Nine weeks after it was released in France on November 2, 2011, the film became the second most successful French movie in France, following the 2008 film Welcome to the Sticks. In a survey by Fnac, the movie was chosen as the top cultural event of 2011, receiving 52% of the votes. Before being surpassed in 2014 by Lucy, it was the French movie seen by the most people worldwide, with 51.5 million tickets sold.

The film received good reviews and was nominated for many awards. In France, it won the César Award for Best Actor for Omar Sy and received seven other César Award nominations, including one for Best Actor for François Cluzet. Five percent of the movie’s profits were given to Simon de Cyrène, an organization that supports people with paralysis.

Plot

At night in Paris, Driss is driving Philippe's Maserati Quattroporte very fast. Police chase them through the streets, but they are finally stopped. Driss says Philippe, who is paralyzed from the neck down, needs to go to the hospital quickly. Philippe pretends to have a seizure, tricking the police into helping them. After arriving at the hospital, Driss drives away.

The story of their friendship is then shown in a flashback. Philippe is a wealthy man who is paralyzed and lives in a luxurious private home. He and his assistant, Magalie, are interviewing people to be his live-in caregiver. Driss does not want the job; he only needs a signed document to keep receiving his benefits. He is told to return the next day to get the document.

The next day, Driss returns and is greeted by Philippe's aide, Yvonne, who tells him he has the job on a trial basis. Even though he is not interested or experienced, Driss does a good job caring for Philippe, using unusual methods. Driss learns about Philippe's disability and helps him with daily tasks. A friend tells Philippe that Driss was once in prison for stealing, but Philippe ignores the warning, saying he does not care about Driss's past. Philippe decides not to fire Driss as long as he does his job well.

Philippe explains that his disability happened during a paragliding accident and that his wife died without having children. Driss helps Philippe organize his personal life, even though he has a difficult relationship with Philippe's adopted daughter, Elisa. Driss discovers an interest in modern art, opera, and painting. For Philippe's birthday, a private classical music concert is held in his home. Philippe teaches Driss about famous pieces, but Driss only recognizes them from ads or cartoons. Feeling the concert is too slow, Driss plays "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire, making the party more fun for everyone.

Driss learns that Philippe communicates only through letters with a woman named Eléonore, who lives in Dunkirk. He encourages Philippe to meet her, but Philippe is afraid of her reaction to his disability. Driss convinces Philippe to call her, and Philippe agrees to send a photo of himself in a wheelchair. He hesitates and asks Yvonne to send a picture of him before the accident. They plan a date, but Philippe cancels at the last minute and leaves with Yvonne. Later, Philippe invites Driss to join him on a paragliding trip in the Alps using his private jet.

Driss's cousin, Adama, who is in trouble with a gang, visits the mansion pretending to deliver mail. Philippe overhears their conversation and realizes Driss needs to support his family. He lets Driss leave his job, saying Driss might not want to push a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Driss returns home, helps his cousin, and joins his friends. Meanwhile, new caregivers replace Driss, but Philippe is unhappy with them. He stops taking care of himself, grows a beard, and looks unwell. Yvonne worries and calls Driss back.

When Driss arrives, he drives Philippe in the Maserati, returning to the earlier police chase scene. After escaping the police, Driss takes Philippe to the seaside. Once Philippe has shaved and dressed, they go to a restaurant on the seafront in Cabourg. Driss suddenly leaves the table, wishing Philippe luck on his lunch date. Moments later, Eléonore arrives. Philippe, moved by emotion, watches her through the window and sees Driss outside, smiling. Driss says goodbye and walks away as Philippe and Eléonore begin talking and enjoying each other's company.

The film ends with images of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and Abdel Sellou, the real people who inspired the story, standing together on a hillside, similar to the paragliding scene earlier in the film. A caption at the end states that the men remain close friends to this day.

Reception

After four weeks, on November 25, 2011, The Intouchables became the most-watched film in France in 2011. After sixteen weeks, more than 19 million people in France had seen the film. On January 10, 2012, The Intouchables set a record by being number one in France for ten weeks straight since its release. As of May 12, 2013, the film had earned $166 million in France and $444.7 million worldwide.

On March 20, 2012, The Intouchables broke the record for the highest-grossing French film, beating The Fifth Element ($263.9 million). In July 2012, it became the top-grossing foreign language film in North America for 2012, surpassing A Separation.

The film performed well in other European countries. It topped charts in Germany for nine weeks, Switzerland for eleven weeks, Austria for six weeks, Poland for three weeks, and Italy, Spain, and Belgium for one week each, as of May 20, 2012.

• More than 30 million tickets were sold outside France, making it the most successful French film shot in French since at least 1994.
• In the United States, it is the fourth highest-grossing French-language film since 1980.
• In Germany, it is the most successful French film shot in any language since at least 1968.
• In Italy, it is the most successful French film shot in French since at least 1997.
• In Spain, it is the second most successful French film shot in French since at least 1994, behind Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (3.7 million admissions) released in 1999.
• In South Korea, it is the most successful French film shot in French since at least 1994.
• In Switzerland, it is the most successful French film shot in any language and the second most successful film from any nationality behind Titanic since at least 1995.
• In Belgium, it is the second most successful French film shot in any language since at least 1996, behind Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (1,148,179 admissions).
• In Austria, it is the most successful French film shot in any language since at least 1994.
• In the Netherlands, it is the most successful French film shot in any language since at least 1994.
• In Poland, it is the fourth most successful French film shot in French since at least 1998, behind Amélie (758,201 admissions), Asterix at the Olympic Games (685,800 admissions), and Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (680,010 admissions).
• In Israel, it is the most successful French film shot in French since at least 2002.
• In Canada (French), it is the fourth most successful French film shot in French since January 1, 2000 (as of March 29, 2012), behind Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (651,582 admissions), Amélie (569,523 tickets), and The Chorus (364,052 tickets sold).
• In Portugal, with 146,000 tickets sold in five weeks, it is the sixth most successful French film shot in French since at least 1994.
• In Japan, it is the most successful French film ever.

Critics mostly gave the film positive reviews. It has a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 122 reviews, and an average score of 6.7/10. The consensus says, "It handles its potentially prickly subject matter with kid gloves, but Intouchables gets by thanks to its strong cast and some remarkably sensitive direction." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 57 out of 100, based on 31 professional critic ratings. Audiences gave it an average grade of "A" on a scale from A+ to F.

In the UK, critics had mixed opinions. When the film was released on September 21, 2012, under the title Untouchable, The Independent called it "a third-rate buddy movie that hardly understands its own condescension." The Daily Telegraph described it as "as broad, accessible, and unsubtle as a subtitled Driving Miss Daisy." However, another Daily Telegraph writer noted that the film "gives the audience permission to laugh with, not at, people with disabilities, and see their lives as they have never seen them before."

The film won the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix, an award for the best film, at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2011. It also received Best Actor awards for both François Cluzet and Omar Sy. At the César Awards 2012, the film received eight nominations. Omar Sy won the César Award for Best Actor on February 24, 2012, for his role as Driss, defeating Jean Dujardin, who was nominated for The Artist. This made Omar Sy the first French African actor to win this honor.

In September 2012, The Intouchables was chosen as France’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 8

Home media

In the United States, the film was released on DVD in March 2013. By April 2022, it had earned $5.7 million from DVD sales.

In the United Kingdom, it was the second most popular foreign language film sold on physical home video formats in 2013, behind the Indonesian action film The Raid. In 2016, it became the ninth most popular foreign language film sold in the UK, and the second most popular French film, after Victor Young Perez.

In the United Kingdom, the film was viewed by 213,500 people on BBC Two in 2016. This made it the third most-watched foreign language film on UK television that year.

Remakes

In 2015, it was announced that Vamsi Paidipally would direct an Indian adaptation called Oopiri. The film was made in two languages, Telugu and Tamil, and released as Thozha. Both versions featured Karthi and Nagarjuna as the male leads. The film was released on March 25, 2016.

In 2014, the rights to The Intouchables were sold to Bollywood filmmakers Karan Johar and Guneet Monga. Their companies, Dharma Productions and Sikhya Entertainment, planned to produce a Hindi remake directed by Mohit Suri. In October 2023, Collin D'Cunha was reported to be the director.

Inseparables is a 2016 Argentinian remake written and directed by Marcos Carnevale.

In July 2011, The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to remake The Intouchables in English for English-speaking countries, Scandinavian countries, and China. In June 2012, Paul Feig was planned to direct and write the script. Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx, and Idris Elba were considered for the role of Abdel, while Colin Firth was in talks for Phillip. Jessica Chastain and Michelle Williams were considered for a female lead.

By March 2013, Feig left the project, and Tom Shadyac was considered to replace him. Chris Tucker was considered for the role of Abdel. In October 2014, Kevin Hart was cast as Abdel, with Firth still attached as Phillip. In March 2016, Bryan Cranston was cast, replacing Firth. Simon Curtis was to direct Cranston and Hart from a screenplay written by Feig. By August 2016, Curtis left the project, and Neil Burger was announced as his replacement. A script by Jon Hartmere would be used instead of Feig's work.

In January 2017, Nicole Kidman and Genevieve Angelson joined the cast of the film, then officially titled Untouchable. In February 2017, Aja Naomi King and Julianna Margulies joined the cast. On August 2, 2017, the film’s title was changed to The Upside. The film was released on January 11, 2019, and earned $125.9 million worldwide.

Yan Yana is a 2025 Turkish comedy-drama film directed by Mert Baykal and written by Aziz Kedi and Feyyaz Yiğit. It is a remake of the 2011 French film The Intouchables. The story follows Refik (Haluk Bilginer), a wealthy man paralyzed after an accident, who hires a caregiver, Ferruh (Feyyaz Yiğit), from a very different background. The unusual relationship between these two characters becomes a strong friendship that changes their lives.