A fine French film that won't translate: The Intouchables

The French film from ca 2010 The Intouchables is totally engaging and charming and a buddy film like none other - the story of a bonding between a very wealthy Parisian quadriplegic and an unemployed black guy from the projects whom he hires as his aide may at first seem familiar - q.v. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Deep Blue Sea - or was it The Sea Inside?, why so many European films on this topic? - and all "based on a true story" the banner that so many films now fly - and none translatable into American idiom?  That said, the relationship between the two main characters is a rare thing on film, a relationship that grows, evolves, and changes both men over time - somehow film is not as good a medium for character evolution and development as is literature, perhaps the time frame is too short in general, or the demands of plot (and entertainment) are so severe, or because character in film tends to be an established starting point and character may experience hardships and challenges over time and rise above the challenges - a staple of film narrative, obviously, but it's a process that more often confirms character than changes character - or, if there is change, it too often feels superimposed from without - as in Dallas Buyers Club that I posted on yesterday - the lead character become more thoughtful and sensitive when under adversity, but the change is too sudden and profound and we feel a bit set up by the overly crude introduction to the lead. Not in The Intouchables - the plot very  smartly begins kind of late in their relationship, when they're obviously buddies (though we don't yet understand how or why or who they are) and then flashes back and fills in the entire narrative. I'm kind of glad this film has not been re-made in English - I don't think it would work as well - as the attitude throughout toward class, race, and sex is particularly Gallic and would feel very different with a rich American hiring a black man from Watts or Harlem as his aide. It's very serious and profound film but with much laugh-out-loud humor, and except perhaps for a little "surprise" twist near the end that was kept from us, or more accurately from the lead character, for no reason other than entertainment, pretty much every moment in the movie is believable and thoughtful. A very find movie that's flown a bit under the radar because of the language barrier, lack of star power, and a topic that could be a downer but is actually uplifting and moving.