The Specials (French: Hors normes) is a 2019 French drama film directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. It was screened out of competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. The film is inspired by the true story of Stéphane Benhamou and Daoud Tatou.
Contents
Plot
Bruno (Vincent Cassel) runs an organization that helps autistic people by finding job placements and activities for them outside of the confines of an institutionalized hospital setting, along with Malik (Reda Kateb), who certifies teenagers from Paris's rough neighborhoods to care for autistic patients. Bruno continually hires more staff despite his organization's financial problems. His organization is also under investigation by the social affairs inspector for operating without a license. Bruno gets Joseph, his oldest patient, a job at a washing machine manufacturer, but Joseph struggles with the temptation to pull fire alarms on metro trains during his commute.
One of Malik's students, Dylan, works with a patient named Valentin. Dylan struggles with appreciating the value of the program and is disrespectful toward Malik.
Cast
Vincent Cassel as Bruno Haroche
Reda Kateb as Malik
Hélène Vincent as Hélène
Bryan Mialoundama as Dylan
Alban Ivanov as Menahem
Benjamin Lesieur as Joseph
Marco Locatelli as Valentin
Catherine Mouchet as Doctor Ronssin
Frédéric Pierrot & Suliane Brahim as Inspectors IGAS
Lyna Khoudri as Ludivine
Aloïse Sauvage as Shirelle
Reception
The film received highly positive reviews. The Specials has an approval rating of 82% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, and an average rating of 7.4/10.
