Introduction: Compared with the American version of the remake of "Untouchable", I prefer the French version more. The French version of "Untouchable" interprets the humor, warmth and delicacy just right, and the overall tone is joyful, but it reveals seriousness everywhere. I like this kind of movie very much, and I don't deliberately create contradictions and conflicts in exchange for the audience's tears and laughs, but use a gentle rhythm to promote the development of the plot. Good movies, probably. @Star One Entertainment
Adapted from The Second Breath, the French version of Untouchable is based on the autobiographical novel "Second Breath" by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, co-directed by Olivier Nakash and Eric Tolanda, starring François Kruce, Omar Shee, Angelini, Audrey Flotte, etc., telling the story of Philippe, a white rich man who cannot take care of himself, and his servant, the black youth Dris, who help and redeem each other.
Stills from the movie "Untouchable"
The film was released in France in November 2011, and after its release, it received rave reviews, maintaining a high score of 9.2 points in Douban, ranking 25th in the Douban Movie Top 250.
The movie "Untouchable" Douban score
Overall, the storyline does not fall into the routine of pretending to be pitiful, of course, it does not deliberately dilute the pain of Philip becoming a disabled person, but closely revolves around the bits and pieces of the two people getting along, because of the different personalities and education, and the laughter is frequent, natural.
The collision of two people's musical tastes, the collision of understanding of the painting, and a series of unsympathetic jokes in the story are very enjoyable. Accompanied by laughter, it is a heartfelt touch. Just as the media commented on the film, "sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, what is the demand in life." ”
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >1. The encounter and acquaintance of the tragic characters</h1>
Mr. Chen Peisi mentioned in his answer to Chaplin's comedy theory question: If we analyze the internal causes of every group of comedic actions, every comedy work, even a simple action, we can find a core of sadness. All the acts that create laughter have a sad core, which is the action line that generates the act of creating laughter, which is the internal driving force, and it is the core thing.
Yes, "Untouchable" is indeed a comedy, but its superbness is reflected in the director's tragic core through comedy.
The two protagonists of the movie "Untouchable"
Both Philip and Driss have strong tragic overtones, and their "dilemma" is very obvious:
Philippe, a wealthy aristocrat, owned mansions, luxury cars, and private jets, and could spend thousands of dollars to buy a painting. However, because of a parachuting accident, he was almost paralyzed except for his head, and he could only be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, and his life suddenly fell to the bottom. In order to make life more convenient, he needs to recruit a private escort with a high salary. Although he is in a prosperous and rich place, even if his freedom and passion are still unquenchable enthusiasm and unparalleled desire for others, due to his own disability, his dreams naturally cannot be obtained, so his soul has been tormented and tortured.
Footage from the movie "Untouchable"
Driss, a black youth from a large black immigrant family, lived a poor and stressful life, was imprisoned for six months for stealing, and was a low-level person in society who had just been released from prison. Although he was tall and powerful, he was mentally weak and could not find the purpose and direction of life. Although he came to Philip's application, he only wanted his employer to help sign a refusal certificate so that he could collect three certificates to receive unemployment benefits.
Two people who originally had no intersection at all had an intersection because of an interview. And as the title implies, Philip's wealth and cultivation are the height of Driss's "untouchable". And Driss's vitality, spontaneity and health are also far away from Philip's "untouchable".
It is precisely because of this "inaccessibility" that there are many incomprehensions between each other. Just as initially, Philip couldn't understand why Drees only wanted to live on unemployment benefits, and Dris couldn't understand what Philip was doing with almost no movement.
In a way, both men are victims of secular society. Wrapped in many laughs, the two characters in the story still have tragic overtones. Philip needs to be revived by vitality and passion, and Drees's spirit and will need to be activated, so they are people who are tormented by fate, people who suffer from fate, and are the two tragic characters portrayed in the film.
It is these two tragic characters who are tormented by fate, because of their encounters and mutual support, that they have both come out of the trough of life and regained their confidence in life.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >2. Inclusion and acceptance behind conflict</h1>
The performance of Philip and Driss in terms of origin, education, and life values can be described as very different, and there will inevitably be a lot of conflicts between the two people.
It can be said that the "conflict" between Philip and Driss in the storyline setting runs through almost the entire film, and from conflict to run-in, from run-in to fit, all of this fundamentally stems from each other's tolerance and acceptance.
Just like from the beginning of the interview, the two sides showed a very big difference in musical preferences, on the one hand, the Kur Partner Band, on the other side was Chopin Berlioz. Later, in the exhibition hall, Philippe said that he admired the painting very much, with peace in the blood, and violence in the calm, and Drees said without any concern that most people could not appreciate the voice of the commoner of art: this is a nosebleed.
Driss expressed utter incomprehension of Philip's purchase of a painting for forty-two thousand euros, and even expressed disdain when Philip said that "art is the only trace that man can leave in the world as a passer-by of life."
At Philip's birthday party, Driss's evaluation of classical music as "a bunch of naked people", "cat and mouse", "coffee advertisement", "unemployment benefit center telephone ringing - waiting time of about 2 years" is ridiculous, and then Driss took the initiative to share his favorite music and swayed with passion to the melody, bringing the people on the scene up and enlivening the atmosphere. What was once a boring birthday party turned into a joyful party.
In many cases, the two showed differences and showed them through a series of "conflicts". Compared to Philip's elegance and subtlety, Driss always expressed his emotions and desires directly, even too rudely. For example, Philip's neighbors always parked their cars in front of Philip's door, completely ignoring the signs prohibiting parking at the door. When Driss saw it, he rushed straight over, pulled the neighbor out of the car, pressed the sign for him to read aloud, and scared the neighbor to leave quickly.
For example, during philip's interaction with his pen pal, Driss was very dismissive of the correspondence between Philip and his pen pal, and did not even see each other for six months, showing some surprise. Philip felt that the alignment of heart and spirit was more important, and Dris felt that he should see the other person first. Under Philip's repeated obstruction, Driss still dialed the other party's phone to communicate and even meet further.
Similar to this kind of "conflict", in the details of the film abound, it is through these "conflicts" that the two people's preferences, values and other aspects are vividly expressed, and then tolerate and accept each other.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > 3</h1>
The film is based on a true story, so there is no overly complicated plot, and it is precisely in this way that the characters of the film are more representative, and the two get their due respect in the process of getting along, which is based on equality, rather than simple sympathy and pity. Therefore, the friendship between Philip and Dris can be said to be a highlight of the film.
In the film, Driss's personality is casual and righteous, and the friendship between the two is gradually cultivated in the life of the bits. Initially, when Philip hired Dris as his caregiver, Philip's friends repeatedly advised him not to hire Philip, because he had a criminal record and grew up in a slum, so there was no sympathy for him. But Philip replied: He always forgets the fact that I am paralyzed, and I want such a person, no pity, no special treatment, no discrimination.
It was also This "empty eye" of Driss did not show deliberate sympathy for him, but an equal attitude, so philip decided to choose him. So for Philip, he didn't want professional care, but a basic, equal respect that would allow him to return to his daily life, so he didn't care about the man's past and other things.
The reality that Driss will selectively pass philippe's disability also weakens his sense of inferiority, which can be seen in many scenes in the film. For example, in the exhibition hall, Driss joked that Philippe "no chocolate without arms", which is a very famous black humor in France, but for Philippe who has arms equals no arms, this joke is obviously a bit excessive. But as mentioned earlier, Driss did not regard Philip as a disabled person, so he had no sympathy, so he was unscrupulous, and perhaps there would be no second person who would joke with Philip like this, and they got along like old friends, and there was no difference between the master and the employer.
Driss even let Philip smoke, take him to a car that doesn't suit him, take him to a high-end club, modify his wheelchair, tell him yellow jokes, etc., to help Philip release his inner depression. All this makes Philip feel a kind of self-return.
As friends with each other, Philip did not keep Driss by his side, and after Emmada came to find Driss, he fired Dris and let him return to his own life.
And when there was no Driss around, Philip had not behaved very well, refusing to cooperate with the caretakers, not shaving, and decadent. At the notice of the housekeeper, Driss used the weekend to come to Philip's side, taking him out for a ride and taking him to meet his pen pals to regain his confidence. Driss arranges a perfect meeting for Philip. At the same time, Driss also returned to him the Faberge Easter egg that he had left during the interview and was of great significance to Philip. And the setting of this plot is really poignant, or it indicates that Philip will embrace a relationship again in a normal way. Philip looked gratefully at Driss through the dining room glass.
The two people got along more and more and developed a deep friendship and trust in each other. And their sincere friendship with each other is a friendship that was originally "untouchable".
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >4. Metamorphosis and redemption across classes</h1>
Driss can be said to be a ray of sunshine in Philip's dark world, equal and happy, warm and rough, love in surprise, etc., and in the same way, Philip also created a different Dres. Driss, who had been immersed in high society for a long time, also improved his treatment of people and things, learned to be polite, learned to appreciate art and create so-called art, and thus got a job as a truck driver.
The film depicts a kind of transformation and redemption across classes, and this transformation and the evolution of redemption are mainly manifested in three levels.
(1) Redemption on a personal level. Arguably the film's most obvious redemption, Philip, a successful, wealthy but paralyzed man, meets a poor but outspoken black man who watches over Deris. Driss treats the former like a normal person, waywardly Philip does a lot of things out of the ordinary, while listening to his heart, taking care of his emotions, and even caring for his sex life, and encouraging him to get out of inferiority, take the initiative to contact and communicate, and date and interact with pen pals for 6 months, so that Philip re-established self-confidence and ignited the passion for life. In this process, the two established trust in each other, from the bits and pieces of life to music, painting and art, etc., and developed a friendship that transcended material things. At the personal spiritual level, the two people living at both ends of the pyramid have changed, and finally regained their confidence in life and started a new and different life.
(2) The redemption of social classes. France is a European country with a large number of black people, and racial and social problems are not negligible. In the interview at the beginning of the film, Driss seems so out of place among a group of interviewers in terms of skin color and education, and this opening scene is not only the main line of the plot, but also a lot of background information is also explained, and many foreshadowings are buried in the plot. In the opening part of the film, the police saw that it was a black man driving and directly fell down. Similar scenes exist in the film in large numbers, reflecting many of the problems of French society about the black class, including social security, employment, poverty, drugs and so on.
So, on this level, the film reflects the need for white people to pay more attention to and support the black class. The interview at the beginning of the film makes us understand that the so-called social security system is not very effective, and the interview becomes a process. Philip hired Driss as a caregiver and gradually achieved a personal transformation. At the same time, Driss was financially supported by Philip and achieved a rise in social status, which can be considered to be the "redemption" of black people by whites.
(3) Cultural salvation. At this level, film and television is the most important thing that the film needs to express, and it is also the core of the film. In the film, many scenes sharply satirize contemporary European civilization, Philip's circle is lifeless and full of hypocrisy, and even Philip thinks that his birthday party is "self-deception", but he is accustomed to it. The "dullness" of classical music and the "liveliness" of rock music at the birthday party should be a deliberately arranged dialogue between European civilization and African civilization, and the vitality of African civilization is highlighted. In another fragment, Driss throws paint on expensive portrait paintings on walls, which is a very direct declaration of war on classical culture. What's even funnier is that his paintings were bought at high prices by whites, both to mock European collectors and to implicitly affirm black culture.
On a cultural level, the director shows the meaning of the decline and aging European culture that needs to be redeemed from the vibrant African civilization through the picture of the storyline, but it should be more critical and reflective, whether European civilization can be redeemed by African civilization, it is unknown.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >5</h1>
Jandy Nelson said: "Meeting a soul mate is like walking into a house where you once lived – you know the furniture, you know the paintings on the walls, the books on the shelves, the things in the drawers. If you fall into darkness in this house, you will still be able to walk around freely. ”
I like to watch this kind of movie, the overall tone is very happy, but it reveals seriousness everywhere. One person entrusts himself from body to mind to the care of another, and he is the only one who cannot. It is also a collision between two classes, rude and elegant, mixed with an incredible and delicate relationship. One side follows the rules, stuck in the memory and numbs to the status quo, the other side is rude, stupid, full of market atmosphere, and often even has behavior that others can't understand. But life is so ingenious, no one will be an island one hundred percent, there are always unexpected people and things suddenly appear, bumping into you.
Untouchable, perhaps representing Philip and Driss, two people who are completely different in skin color, race, class, financial level, personality, life experience, cultural concepts and artistic tastes should be "unattainable", but in the end they have formed a kind of "integration".
Overall, "Untouchable" is a moving film full of this warmth and power, the film does not deliberately create contradictions and conflicts in exchange for the audience's tears and laughs, but uses a gentle rhythm to promote the development of the plot.
The comedic portrayal of sad emotions in the storyline, the touching and profound warm interpretation, intriguing and touching!
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