Review: Untouchable

Les Intouchables

As I may have made evident in the past, I am somewhat obsessed with all things francophone and when I discovered that there was a French film of such prominence in the film world that I hadn’t seen (apparently the 3^rd most watched foreign languages film) I jumped on the opportunity to go and have a peek. I can say quite frankly, I have not been disappointed.

The film tells the clichéd tale of a rich invalid being introduced to the lifestyle of a rebellious black guy from the banlieue with a good heart. What starts out as a short term job that gives Driss somewhere to stay turns into a cherished friendship. Somehow despite the stereotypes, including being initiated into smoking weed and hitting shamelessly on women, this film avoids the cheese entirely and simply makes you laugh. 

The expansive disparity between class is stark and repeatedly prompted throughout this film, but it’s Driss’ frivolity when it comes to Philippe’s disability that charms an audience into seeing the funny side too. With lines such as, ‘Where do you find a disabled person? Where you left him’, you might expect to hear a collective, sharp intake of awkward breath in any cinema, but Philippe’s acceptance of his disability (and indeed, the joke) settles us into a calming sense of security. In this film, you are allowed to laugh. 

With a beautiful soundtrack by Ludovico Einaudi only ever interrupted by either Philippe’s choice of Vivaldi or Driss’ Boogie Wonderland, this film manages to find a perfect balance between its sombre subject choice and its optimistic ‘live in the moment’ atmosphere. 

The Familiar Family

Image: FOX

This weekend I made the expedition voyage to the north to celebrate my heroic grandpa’s 95^th birthday with the entirety of my family. Admittedly, I have a rather large family with 18 cousins and 2^nd cousins I actually know but it made me think about all those family stereotypes that may actually be true…

The Wacky Aunt. There is always an aunt who is a tad eccentric sure in her opinions providing you with endless hours of amusement with her ‘back in my day’ comments and hilarious judgements. Whether a fan of the cynic aunt or not, you can certainly while away the hours listening to her thoughts on your 2^nd cousin twice removed’s new hair colour.

The Random Cousin. Everyone has that cousin who you’ve been introduced to enough times that you should definitely know their name, but you just don’t. No matter how hard you try to remember, it just won’t come back and you end up having to talk about yourself for the entirety of the conversation to avoid awkward moments.

The ‘Why Haven’t You Grown’. Yes, I do still get this one. Now you may be asking why at the age of 20 I am still growing, well I am not but I do now make the life choice to occasionally wear high heels and it amuses me to see the look on my uncle’s face when I am suddenly 4 inches taller than I was 6 months ago.

The Endless Goodbyes. When the time comes to give everyone a kiss and head off back home to conversations in which you don’t have to smile until your face hurts, I always find that I end up saying goodbye to everyone about 10 times over a period of a few hours. In my book, the phrase,’ we’re definitely leaving now’ is vastly overused.

Our Materialistic Must Haves

Image: BestStuff.com

I recently made the typical student blunder of losing my phone in a dingy night club in Bristol. Luckily I had a programme turned on that allowed my computer to find my phone and then make it make a very loud and annoying sound, much to the hungover Reps displeasure the following morning. Although I was only phoneless for less than a day, I genuinely struggled with being out of touch with the world around me, despite the fact that the world survived perfectly happily without my communicating with it. So here are a few of the things that we have become increasingly addicted to that don’t necessarily improve our lives as much as we might think…

All things phones. From checking a quick fact online to forgetting someone’s name and then checking it on Facebook, we can’t get enough of our on-the-go info. Constantly argued by the less technological generation is whether or not this is going to have a profound effect on our memories. Coming from someone with terrible information-retaining skills, it is certainly not helping.

Online TV. One of my friends came up with a very inventive necessity to give up for lent last year: iPlayer. Although we don’t spend every 5 minutes on iPlayer/4oD/SideReel- we do spend a disproportionate amount compared to our parents. The act of lying in bed watching a movie or American sitcom before nodding off is hugely recognisable to our generation. Whereas our parents would spend the hour before blissful sleep reading a mind-enhancing novel, we seem to spend it catching up on Take Me Out or learning the new vocabulary of TOWIE. 

Computers. It would be impossible for a student to do all the studenty things they need to do without some sort of computational device. Essays are ‘handed in’ online, events are organised on Facebook and timetables are only issued electronically. The question therefore has to be put forward as to whether we are being forced to become addicted to our devices, even if we didn’t have a tendency to do so before. Either way, we spend most of our day attached to these things, but I suppose I don’t mind too much considering you’re currently using yours to read my blog.

How to Decide What to Wear

Picture: Rent Cafe Blog

You know those days when you open your wardrobe and stare blankly for a minute before uttering those heavily repeated words, ‘I need some new clothes’? The dilemma of nothing to wear rears its ugly head often enough that getting dressed can be a nightmare. Why not try some of these methods to help you decide what to wear today…

Follow the Facebook. What is Facebook for if not to judge your friends and scroll through endless pictures of yourself narcissistically? Next time you’re having a flick through, stop on a picture where you’re looking particularly fashionable and copy that outfit. You’ll automatically feel à la mode which will give you a confidence boost as well.  

Ask a friend. Have flatmates who seem to always look amazingly stylish without even trying? Why not ask them if you can raid their wardrobe. Throw in some fashion-y compliments and they’ll be happy to let you have a snoop and borrow the odd item, it’ll be exciting to wear something new and might give you new ideas as to what suits you.

Surf Daily Mail Showbiz. Ever heard of the Showbiz and Gossip section of the Daily Mail website? Apparently the most visited website in the US, it is a haven for pictures of celebrities (and the occasional nobody) looking trendy. Have a good scroll through to see if anything reminds you of any item you own and put that on for the day, you might even feel like a celeb.

Excavation Time. Open your wardrobe and dig in. Find something that you haven’t worn for at least a year and make it work. It’ll be fun to rediscover old items and if you end up looking terrible you can laugh about why you own something so hideous, provides a good conversation starter too.