The plot of the film is inspired by the true story of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his French-Algerian caregiver Abdel Sellou, discovered by the directors in À la vie, à la mort, a documentary film.
Although the real-life 'Driss' was a young Algerian man called Abdel, directors Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache changed the character's nationality to Senegalese, as they had enjoyed working with Omar Sy on Tellement proches (2009), and really wanted him to play the part.
At the end of the film, we see the real millionaire and his assistant. They are still friends, even though they don't see each other as often as they used to. The men left France: Abdel returned to Algeria where he opened a bird farm, and Philippe moved to Morocco.
Abdel Sellou now lives in Algeria with his wife and three children, where he runs a chicken farm. He remains close to Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, who lives in Morocco with his second wife and two children.
The difference between the real story and the film "The Intouchables" The story
Why does Driss leave Philippe?
This leads Driss to explain to Philippe the whole truth about his past, which leads Philippe to let Driss go. He says that Driss' family needs him and Driss needs to be there for his family rather than spending his whole life taking care of Philippe. Driss returns to the suburbs and Philippe hires a new caregiver.
Philippe di Borgo became a quadriplegic in 1993 following a paragliding accident. Because of his disability, he attempted to commit suicide by wrapping an oxygen tube around his neck. In July 2012, he was appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honour. Pozzo di Borgo died on 1 June 2023, at the age of 72.
The story of the two men is then told as a flashback, which takes up almost the rest of the film. Philippe, a rich quadriplegic who owns a luxurious Parisian mansion, and his assistant Magalie, are interviewing candidates to be his live-in carer.
The Upside is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by Neil Burger, written by Jon Hartmere. It is a remake of the French 2011 film The Intouchables, which was itself inspired by the lives of Abdel Sallou and Philippe Pozzo di Borgo.
“Intouchables,” or “The Untouchables,” is based on the true story of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, a wealthy businessman who was left a quadriplegic after a paragliding accident, and his aide, Abdel Sellou, an unemployed, Algerian-born resident of a lower-class suburb, or banlieue, near Paris.
Know your kid. There are about 10 uses of the f-word (in subtitles), very infequent. This movie goes a thin line between PG-13 and R. If there was no language, it was PG-13 for drug abuse and some mild sex references.
How did Philippe become paralyzed in Intouchables?
Philippe, the son of a French duke, became quadriplegic following a paragliding accident in 1993. At first, he didn't adjust well to his disability, once attempting suicide by wrapping his oxygen tube around his neck.
And rather than try to revive the New Wave or emulate Hollywood like most widely seen French films of late, "Intouchables" harnesses its core strengths - ease with intimacy, willingness to ridicule anything and brutal honesty - and delivers one of the funniest, most honest and touching films I have ever seen.
This French comedy-drama involves Driss (Omar Sy) and Philippe (François Clozet) in forming a unique and eccentric relationship as a caretaker and his patient.
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 caregiver Abdel Sellou, discovered by the directors in À la vie, à la mort, a documentary film.
Philippe Pozzo di Borgo was born on 14 February 1951 in Paris, France. He was a writer, known for The Intouchables (2011), Menschen (1982) and La vie comme un roman (1999). He was married to Khadija NAJIMI and Béatrice Henriette Lucie ROCHE. He died on 2 June 2022 in Marrakech, Morocco.
The Intouchables is clearly the more well-respected film (74% on Rotten Tomatoes versus an undeserved 39%), but The Upside is actually quite a successful remake. Some may bristle at recreating a film just so we English-speakers don't have to read subtitles, but the filmmakers did a good job with it.
The movie “The Intouchables”, a film directed by French screenwriters Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, is based on a touching true story of a wealthy business man living with quadriplegia and his unorthodox caregiver, Driss.
British English: untouchable ADJECTIVE /ʌnˈtʌtʃəbl/ If you say that someone is untouchable, you mean that they cannot be affected or punished in any way.
This is a remake of the French film The Intouchables (2011). In Germany and The Netherlands, it was the most successful French film in history. The same story has also been filmed as the Argentinian film Inseparables (2016).
As the descendant of two prominent French families and director of a legendary vineyard, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo was not in the habit of asking for help. Then, in 1993, right on the heels of his beloved wife's diagnosis of a terminal illness, a paragliding accident left him a quadriplegic.
