The Intouchables is France’s most commercially successful film of the 21st century. Its success is not mysterious: it is a perfectly crafted crowd-pleaser built on two genuinely extraordinary performances and a friendship that is, at its core, deeply real.

Based on the true story of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his caregiver Abdel Sellou, the film casts Francois Cluzet as Philippe, a wealthy quadriplegic aristocrat, and Omar Sy as Driss, the young man who takes the caregiver job on a dare and stays. Driss treats Philippe as a person rather than a patient, which is both what Philippe craves and what the film argues he deserves.

Omar Sy won the Cesar Award for Best Actor. His performance is a joy: expansive, physical, warm without sentimentality. The film is not challenging. It is generous. Sometimes a film made with genuine craft and genuine feeling about a genuine friendship is enough.