The Intouchables (French: Intouchables, pronounced [ɛ̃tuʃablə]), also known as Untouchable in the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia, is a 2011 French buddy comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. It stars François Cluzet and Omar Sy. The plot of the film is inspired by the true story of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his French-Algerian carer Abdel Sellou, discovered by the directors in À la vie, à la mort, a documentary film.

Nine weeks after its release in France on 2 November 2011, it became the second highest-grossing French film in France, after the 2008 film Welcome to the Sticks. The film was voted the cultural event of 2011 in France with 52% of votes in a poll by Fnac. Until it was eclipsed in 2014 by Lucy, it was the most-viewed French film in the world with 51.5 million tickets sold.

The film received positive reviews and several award nominations. In France, the film won the César Award for Best Actor for Sy and garnered seven further nominations for the César Awards, including the César Award for Best Actor for Cluzet. Five percent of the film's profits were donated to Simon de Cyrène, an association that helps paralyzed people.

Plot

At night in Paris, Driss is driving Philippe's Maserati Quattroporte at high speed. Chased through the streets by the police, they are eventually cornered. Driss claims the quadriplegic Philippe must get to a hospital urgently; Philippe pretends to have a seizure and the fooled police officers escort them. After arriving at the hospital, Driss drives away.

The story of friendship between the two men is then told as a flashback: Philippe, a wealthy quadriplegic owner of a luxurious hôtel particulier, and his assistant Magalie are interviewing potential live-in caregivers. Driss has no ambitions to get hired; he is only waiting to get a signature on a document proving his interview was rejected, to continue receiving his benefits. He is told to return the next morning to collect his signed document.

The next day when Driss returns, Philippe's aide Yvonne greets him, telling him he has the job on a trial basis. Despite being uninterested and inexperienced, he does well caring for Philippe, albeit using unconventional methods. Driss learns the extent of his employer's disability, aiding Philippe in every aspect of his life. A friend of Philippe's reveals that Driss was imprisoned for six months for robbery, but Philippe disregards the warnings, stating he does not care about Driss' past. As Driss is the only one who does not treat Philippe with pity, he will not fire Driss as long as he does his job properly.

Philippe explains his disability resulted from a paragliding incident and that his wife died without bearing children. Gradually, Driss helps him to organise his private life, despite having problems with his adopted daughter Elisa. Driss discovers modern art, opera and starts painting. For Philippe's birthday, a private classical music concert is performed in his living room. Philippe educates Driss on famous classical pieces, but Driss only recognises them as advert music or cartoon themes. Feeling the concert is too boring, Driss plays Earth, Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland", livening up the party, with the guests also enjoying the music.

Discovering Philippe has a purely epistolary relationship with a woman called Eléonore who lives in Dunkirk, Driss encourages his employer to meet her, but Philippe fears her reaction when she discovers his disability. Driss persuades him to talk to her by phone. Philippe agrees to send a photo of himself in a wheelchair to her, but he hesitates and asks his aide, Yvonne, to send a picture as he was before his accident. A date between them is agreed to, but Philippe is too scared to meet Eléonore at the last minute and leaves with Yvonne before she arrives. Philippe then calls Driss, inviting him to fly with him in his Dassault Falcon 900 private jet for a paragliding weekend in the Alps.

Driss's cousin, Adama, in trouble with a gang, comes to fetch Driss at the mansion on the pretext of delivering mail. Overhearing, Philippe recognizes Driss's need to be supportive to his family and releases him from his job, suggesting he may not want to push a wheelchair all his life.

Driss returns home, joins his friends and manages to help his cousin. In the meantime new carers have replaced Driss but Philippe is not happy with any of them. His morale is very low and he stops taking care of himself. He grows a beard and looks ill. Worried, Yvonne calls Driss back.

Upon arrival Driss drives Philippe in the Maserati, which brings the story back to the initial police chase. After they elude the police, Driss takes Philippe to the seaside. Once Philippe has shaved and dressed, they arrive at a Cabourg restaurant on the sea front. Driss suddenly leaves the table, saying good luck to Philippe on his lunch date. A few seconds later Eléonore arrives. Emotionally touched, Philippe looks through the window and sees Driss outside, smiling at him. Driss bids Philippe farewell and walks away as Phillipe and Eléonore chat and enjoy each other's company.

The film ends with shots of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and Abdel Sellou, the people on whom the story is based, together on a hillside, reminiscent of the paragliding scene earlier in the film. The closing caption states that the men remain close friends to this day.

Cast

• François Cluzet as Philippe
• Omar Sy as Bakary "Driss" Bassari
• Audrey Fleurot as Magalie
• Anne Le Ny as Yvonne
• Clotilde Mollet as Marcelle
• Alba Gaïa Bellugi as Elisa
• Joséphine de Meaux as Nathalie Lecomte
• Cyril Mendy as Adama, Driss's cousin
• Christian Ameri as Albert
• Grégoire Oestermann as Antoine
• Marie-Laure Descoureaux as Chantal
• Absa Dialou Toure as Mina
• Salimata Kamate as Fatou
• Thomas Soliveres as Bastien
• Dorothée Brière-Meritte as Éléonore
• Caroline Bourg as Freddy
• Émilie Caen as Gallerist

Remakes

Indian - Oopiri

In 2015 it was announced that Vamsi Paidipally would be directing an Indian adaptation titled Oopiri, which was a bilingual film simultaneously shot and released in both Telugu and Tamil as Thozha. Both versions stars Karthi and Nagarjuna as its male leads. They were released on 25 March 2016.

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

Spanish - Inseparables (2016 film)

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

English - The Upside

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

By March 2013, Feig dropped out of directing, with Tom Shadyac in talks to replace him, and Chris Tucker was in consideration for Abdel. In October 2014, Kevin Hart was cast as Abdel, with Firth still attached as Phillip. In March 2016, it was announced that Bryan Cranston was cast, replacing Firth. Simon Curtis was to direct Cranston and Hart from a screenplay written by Feig. By August 2016, Curtis presumably dropped out of directing. Neil Burger was announced as his replacement. A script by Jon Hartmere would be used rather than 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 2 August 2017, the film's title was changed to The Upside. The film was released on 11 January 2019, earning a box office of $125.9 million worldwide.