Intouchables

I recently visited Paris, and went to see this film that I’d read about, during my last visit: Intouchables. It is obviously a blockbuster in France, the whole weekend RF1 was reporting about the high number of visitors, and my expectations were high. I went to the theatre with a friend, who already saw the film, but enjoyed it so much that he gladly accompanied me. And in many ways, it is a charming film. And for the first half an hour, I was nothing but charmed. But then. Something with this awesome guy, Driss (Omar Sy) from a banlieue north of Paris (Bondy) and his aristocratic paralysed “friend” starts to disturb me. Starts to resemble other stories, too many other stories. Robinson Crusoe. Mission civilicatrice. Herder’s idea on what black people can contribute with, and what white people can contribute with. Oswald Spengler. Joy versus order. Emotion versus reason. Bring in a black man into a joyless paralysed white world and make the white world swing:  

Through the whole film there is a beautiful dynamic between Driss and Philippe (the riche paralysed man), not the least in the end when they part, and both have grown, and become more complete men. Driss has matured, and become a responsible man, and Philippe has come alive again. And the whole story is based on a true story. But. In the original version the poor guy was not black. He was Moroccan. Why the film team decided to change that I don’t know, one can but speculate about the reasons for that… Also the book is apparently a hit, very exposed at FNAC and most other bookshops in Paris.

But FTW! So stereotypical, though, this gorgeous man, Omar Sy, playing this typical “homme de la brousse” from the French colonial logic, without any reason to start with, only unruly emotions and passions, through the rational guidance from crème de la crème, he becomes eventually quite decent. And the paralysed man almost frozen to death in his bourgeoisie palace gets in contact with his feelings, with his heart. Doesn’t all this proves that colonialism was right all along, and is a win win? The dying European culture of Spengler’s nightmare, is brought back to life through fresh African blood! Exactly as wrote Jean-Paul Sartre in “Orphée Noir” in 1948. And the savage African learns something of the best that European high culture can offer?