Maybe most people can’t read and comprehend for two hours straight. Maybe the words “foreign film” seem too, well, foreign.
I’m not sure the reason, but I can count on one hand the number of people I know who enjoy entertainment from other countries (the Gangham Style music video doesn’t count). If you can channel the old Hooked on Phonics knowledge to read subtitles and open your mind to a movie produced far from Hollywood, then you have the chance to absorb some utterly impressive cinematic art.
“The Intouchables”, a 2011 French comedy-drama that is newly available on Netflix, is pure genius.
After an incredibly wealthy man becomes a quadriplegic (paralyzed from the neck down) in an accident, he hires a young man from the projects to be his caretaker. The plot is simple enough. There is no dream inside of a dream or Megan Fox slowly cleaning a motorcycle or special effects that make you wish you had blue skin and a tail; there is just incredibly talented actors playing well crafted characters experiencing real life drama. Yes, it is based on a true story.
I won’t divulge the meanings and metaphors of the work or delve into the twists and turns of the story line, because like I said, you need to see the film yourself. However, I will say this: there are very few movies recently produced in America –that if you strip away the ooh’s and ahh’s of the special effects and take out the glamorous stars you’ve watched on screen since you were ten –that have the power to teach you something genuine about the human condition and leave you a more perceptive member of mankind than before you saw it. I believe “The Intouchables” is a rare breed of entertainment.
If you choose to embark on the journey of this movie, you must be engaged and invested in watching. When it comes to subtitles, if you decide to scroll down your Instagram feed and casually text, you will disconnect from this art. You will miss a script so well written, that at any one moment you are laughing hysterically or tearing up with emotion. Every line has purpose, every score of music holds you captivated and every shot gives you a new perspective on the story. There is not a sound, word or camera angle that is superlative.
The world is full of incredibly different kinds of people who all interpret the world around them in their own unique (and in my opinion, beautiful) way. To watch a movie produced by minds that absorb a culture very different than your own every day of their lives, is to broaden your insight of our species. It gives you the chance to see what others value, what makes them laugh and what tragedies of this life cause them to struggle. If you can open yourself up to appreciating the art of another country, I think you will find that there’s nothing too foreign about the brilliance of foreign films.
“La critique est aisée, mais l’art est difficile.”
Criticism is easy, art is difficult.
–Destouches
