Post by @filmenthusiast

The Intouchables came out in France 15 years ago today, and it’s still the rare film that can make you cry and dance in the same two hours. It’s based on the real friendship between Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, the former head of Champagne Pommery who was paralyzed in a 1993 paragliding accident, and Abdel Sellou, the French-Algerian carer he hired. Directors Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano found them through a TV documentary, then went to Morocco to meet Philippe. What mattered most to him: no pity. It had to be funny. Omar Sy wasn’t a random pick. The directors had been working with him since their second short film in 2001 and wrote the film with him in mind. Philippe was originally going to be played by Daniel Auteuil before François Cluzet took over, and Cluzet met the real Philippe before shooting. Some of the real stories were even toned down. In the film, Driss grabs a badly parked neighbor by the collar. Philippe says the real Abdel slapped him hard enough to draw blood. It sold more than 19 million tickets in France and grossed over $426 million worldwide on a €9.5 million budget. Omar Sy beat Jean Dujardin to the César for Best Actor, the first Black actor to win it, and the real Philippe and Abdel appear together at the very end.