The 2011 French comedy The Intouchables by Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano is a touching (no pun intended) and funny movie, based on a real story.

The film stars François Cluzet as Phillipe, a rich, cultured man who is paralysed after a paragliding accident.

Cluzet’s co-star, Omar Sy plays Driss, a street-hardened Senegalese man who lacks opportunities in Paris until Phillipe hires him to be his caretaker.

The film is touching because the two men develop an amazing friendship, despite their cultural differences. This is one of the defining characteristics of French comedies, that is, the clashing of different cultures and their eventual reconciliation (Serial Bad Weddings is another film that explores this, for example). Driss jokes throughout with Phillipe about his condition, and Phillipe appreciates his lack of pity; and Phillipe doesn’t pity Driss for living on the streets, but rather gives him an opportunity for work and responsibilities. Like many French comedies, the film uses humor to traverse racial and social tensions.

The film pokes fun at some the pretensions of Western culture, including modern art and classical music. There is one scene in which Driss slaps some paint on a canvas, and Phillipe tricks one of his artsy friends into buying it for a ridiculous sum of money.

"The Intouchables" is the second biggest box office hit in France.

The film can be rented with English subtitles here.