On the heels of my post yesterday, announcing that it would make its world premiere as the closing night film at the 59th San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain next month, as well as a reminder that of the fact that Harvey Weinstein and his Weinstein Company have acquired both stateside distribution rights to the original film AND, more noteworthy, the English-language remake rights to the film… we now have our first look at the film via a teaser trailer.
To recap… it’s an upcoming new French film titled Intouchables (Untouchable).
The film, which is said to be based on a funny and moving true story, centers on the relationship between a wealthy white aristocrat who becomes a quadriplegic after a paragliding accident, and the young “street-tough” black man he hires to take care of him.
It stars Omar Sy as our “street-tough” dude, Driss, while François Cluzet (one of Frances movie stars), plays Philippe the rich quadriplegic.
The pair in character in the photo above.
As I’ve already said… I’m not familiar with the true story that the film is based on, and couldn’t immediately find anything about it on the web, and I can only help but wonder what Harvey sees in it to warrant a Hollywood remake. Based on what I’ve learned about the original story thus far, there’s nothing particular fresh about the basic concept, and one can’t help but instantly see some potential derisive character archetypes here, specifically where the black man is concerned.
But, again, some of its context may be lost in translation for me, so I’ll wait until I actually see the original film before dumping on the entire the project, as well as the Weinsteins remake. Given that it is based on true events, I’m wondering if Harvey will stick to the original story and characters (the right white quadriplegic and the poor, street smart, black tough guy), or revamp the entire idea.
Watch the teaser below, which just surfaced, and is in French, without subtitles. Sorry… though I think the images tell the tale. I should note that I expected it to be a drama; this looks far more comedic than I imagined the film would be. And, frankly, what I see here doesn’t win me over one bit. A remake Harvey?
