Everyone we meet influences our thinking, modifies our ways, a little bit of that person rubs off onto us. "The Eighth Day" takes up this theme (Compare "Rainmaker"). In this film Harry (Daniel Auteuil) a businessman expert in sales psychology meets up with Georges (Pascal Duquenne), a Down's Syndrome child on the run. Winning performances from both these actors give this film its main strength. The opening sequence is excellent where Georges relates his theory on the creation of the world and in the closing scene we discover what God created on the eighth day. There are some moments in the story that are very frustrating for Harry. For example, Georges who is completely uninhibited demands a pair of expensive shoes and hasn't enough money. It's the kind of scene where you laugh through your tears. I liked the scene where the Down's Syndrome group on a trip to the Art Gallery escape on a bus and gate-crash the Paradis fun park. The most humorous of all the embarrassments is the scene where Harry and Georges pass a horse-float on the highway and, looking back, Georges gives the driver a rude salute. But there are some gentle scenes as well, especially the impressive use of close-ups of hands - hands feeling the sun,wind and rain, hands reaching up, hands reaching out and clasping in love and friendship. This is true cinema which touches the heart. There are very moving scenes where Georges proposes to Nathalie, where Georges cradles Harry's head in his arms, where Georges keeps calling for his dear Mom, where Georges teaches Harry to laugh..I felt there was a profound message in the film that life is beautiful- the very presence of grass (Did you know it cries when you cut it?), the trees overhead, the song of birds, the little insects - all nature's miraculous creatures. They are all there to be enjoyed if we but lie back (like Harry and Georges) look around us and listen......A beautiful film.
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raymond-1511 September 1999
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Bored_Dragon30 April 2018After "Rain Man" and "Forrest Gump" the time has come for "The Eighth Day", a Belgian film about the accidental (was it?) and unusual friendship of a young man with Down's syndrome and a successful salesman who allowed his career to ruin his life. A touching drama with lots of humor, which, with its story, message and excellent acting, parries the aforementioned masterpieces, but, unfortunately, it's not filmed that well. The main roles are played by Pascal Duquenne, a Belgian theater actor with Down's syndrome, and French actor Daniel Auteuil. They shared the Best Actor Award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for their roles in this film, which is a unique case in the history of the festival. If you have let a tear while watching "Rain Man" and "Forrest Gump", for this film you should prepare the whole package of handkerchiefs, because this is one of those movies with which you never get tired of crying. The first time I watched it about twenty years ago, this was my third or fourth viewing, and surely I will repeat it few more times.
8/10 -
Though the plot elements to "The Eighth Day" seem like they have been done plenty of times, the film still has much of the spark, mystery, and symbolism that Jaco Van Dormal's first film had. Though not as good as "Toto the Hero", which will always remain on my favorites list, the movie still leaves us with lots of emotions. Daniel Auteil, from 2001's flavorless "The Closet" downplays his part, afraid to overact (rightfully so, the role could have easily been ruined if the actor was overly dramatic). However, I felt the part needed a bit more realism to it, focusing more on the character itself instead of simply the character's growth.
Don't walk into this movie expecting the dark humor and unexpected twists that you got from "Toto the Hero" because you will be disappointed. However, the film still serves as a decent, if not flawed, movie -
ken_ley28 March 2005This film is close to be my favorite piece of celluloid. There is really not much I'd need or want to say here. Except maybe "See this film" and "Enjoy the excellent work by Daniel and Pascal", who carries you through this neat, funny and heartbreaking story about 'spending your eighth day' - your own day!
Seeing this film made me think seriously about how I spend my eighth day = my life! It appears, that some of us are wasting precious time doing things we think we need to do. Either if it's pleasing a career or just consuming TV-shows and ballgames. What we tend to miss is the satisfaction of being something for another person - make a difference. About taking room and time to be spontaneous and live - NOW! (on the eighth day)... At least that was what I got from 'The Eighth Day'. -
khatcher-213 April 2001For anyone with a moderate sensibility, a moderate feeling of the human and humane condition, for anyone capable of getting above the Hollywood ilk, for anyone who is satisfied seeing cinema which does not have a series of Seagals/Willis/Van Dammes blasting the brains out of anybody or seeing who gets into bed with whom, for anyone whose intellectual level reaches a capacity to grasp, sympathise with, comprehend, laugh WITH, cry WITH natural tender heart-warming hilarious compassionate HUMAN BEINGS, `Le Huitième Jour' is waiting for you. Jaco van Dormael has not achieved simply a masterpiece, that would have been too simplistic; he has achieved one of those rare monumental works of art in the cinematographic world which defies any kind of encapsuling. Is it a drama? Is it a comedy? No: it is the story of Georges, a wonderful funny pitiful laughable loving frightened beautiful personality, a sufferer of the Downes Syndrome. It is a story which has you laughing through your tears, but this is not one of those classic tear-jerkers; this film moves through a world that has you at once mixing your feelings of compassion or pity or even shame with those of admiration, warmth and even love. A successful banking salesman, Harry, bumps into Georges: they were both going in opposite directions with absolutely opposing ideas, problems and priorities; skillfully van Dormael melts these two unlikely men into a warm friendship, but which is so much more than the good buddy friendship of those having a beer down the road. This is a relationship which develops into a profound needing by both for the other. The cuasi-surrealist scenes fit in perfectly: Georges recalls (or invents) past scenes of his life while either day-dreaming or sleeping; even the almost phantasmagorical final scene is totally correct. The only scene which might be considered a little out of place is when they steal a bus and drive it out of the show-rooms. However, this does not detract from the whole. This film is a monument. Even if your French is not up to much, please bear seeing it with sub-titles. `Le Huitième Jour' is worth the trouble. As for anything else, well, just read the following commentaries I go along with all of them. This film is a joy, it is majestic, it is unique. If you have seen `Rain Man' which I consider an excellent film, you must see this one: it is far superior because it has not the superficial veneer of famous Hollywood-produced world-renowned actors; it has Pascal Duquenne and Daniel Auteuil TEN oscars for these two, and three more for Jaco van Dormael. Who cares ? Yes: 11 out of 10 if the IMDb rating doesn't break down under the strain.
Magnifique! Chapeau! -
writers_reign17 August 2004Foolishly, without bothering to learn any more about it than that it involved Daniel Auteuil and a guy with Downs Syndrome, I avoided this classic til a couple of days ago when they were offering the video for silly money. Let me put my ten cents in with every comment I have read here immediately and state categorically that this film is a JOY. Okay, you know going in that a major character is handicapped so you figure that at some point the movie is going to manipulate your emotions and you're ready for that but, like most things, it's all in the wrist, and this one has an extra metatarsal. It is, of course, the salesman who spends his life lecturing on how to manipulate the buyer who is himself manipulated by Georges - nice touch naming him after the 'normal' one of the two buddies in 'Of Mice And Men', where the retarded Lenny is looked after by George - the irritating, exasperating, impossible lovable guy who walks into his life after Harry nearly ran into his. Okay, to make this work you need to create a character who is the complete opposite of Georges, a guy literally too busy making money and being successful to stop and smell the roses. A guy who misses his daughters dreadfully since his estranged wife - it's not clear if they are divorced or just separated - took them away yet is so busy that he completely forgets to pick them up and leaves them waiting alone at the train station; who opts to attend a conference on his daughter's birthday, you get the picture. Georges misses someone, too. His mother, who is dead. Time and again in his loneliness and hurt he conjures her up and we see the great love they shared. This then, is the back story and the scene is set for what Hollywood used to call a 'meet-cute'. Here, Auteuil, in despair, his mind in a turmoil, driving through the rain runs over something large which he failed to see. Turns out to be the dog that had attached itself to Georges who has lit out from his residential home after watching all the other residents being picked up by relatives. Now all that is left is for Georges to 'change' Harry, to humanise him if you will and this he does in spades. This is a film chock full of laughter and tears and the fact that a leading French actress Miou-Miou agreed to play what is little more than a cameo as Harry's estranged wife speaks volumes for the quality of the writing. Now and again the cynicism surrounding the gongs of filmdom, especially the Oscars, get it right and how appropriate that BOTH these superb actors copped the 'Best Actor' nod at Cannes. 10/10
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lunating25 February 2020At the first day there was Sun. At the second - there was Cloud. At the third day - gentle Drum. At the fourth day there was nun. Then came the crowds and at the fifth day there was none. Our society will be truly open and democratic when a bunch of people with certain 'disabilities' will have a possibility to get (the heck) away from Institute in which they reside in the sake of their 'relatives' comfort and come to celebrate with a random little girl at her Birthday. But yet all we could do is make and watch our own movie with our own stories to explain to the indifference of social media certain points which need to be explained if we want to have certain 'credit' in one of billion eyes of Its Honorability the Fund and Its Highest Lachrymatority the Market. Still this piece is not without 'prejudice' if i may say so, as well as every piece of art made by those who can't experience the way of life of those who's been casted away as a patients, orphans, geniuses and lunatics - casted away to play a role (in the representation and performance) of pride, burden, guilt and eternal remindment to our 'wishful sinful' Society. And all have to start over again: At the first day - Same Old Sun. At the second - playful Ground. At the third day there was nun. Then came a priest with smoking gun bringing white candle, golden shrouds. And at the fourth day there was none.
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This is the French and Belgians doing what they do best. It's quirky, visually inventive, exhilarating and emotionally challenging storytelling. Director Jaco van Dormael takes us into the world of Georges, a Down's Syndrome sufferer and his quest for a meaningful relationship with someone, just anyone. This is not done in a patronising way but with a great sense of fun and also honesty. Georges' interplay with corporate management guru, Harry is dazzlingly handled - shifting from comedy to tragedy back to comedy again with breathtaking ease.
The Eighth Day puts similar Hollywood fare like Barry Levinson's Oscar winning Rain Man or Robert Zemeckis's Forrest Gump well and truly in the shade. At times, it evokes the humour of Milos Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with shades of Dennis Potter thrown in for good measure.
As the emotionally blunted and desperately lonely yuppie, Harry, Daniel Auteuil turns in yet another sublime performance. But it is matched by the brilliant Pascal Duquenne as Georges. It's a movie with uniformly strong performances and so many, memorable set pieces - the shoe shop scene, car showroom scene, George's dance to Genesis's 'Jesus He Knows Me,' the conference scene, the fireworks scene. If you haven't seen it, there's only one thing to do. Just rent it or attend a screening at a retro cinema near you and see what you've been missing. Better still, buy this movie. Sheer genius..... -
didiermustntdie26 July 2009a great film, one of the funniest films ever. the only thing that disturbed me is the music sounds like flashdance...what a feeling.. also it would be more believable if the character Daniel Auteuil plays were a loser businessman,that would be less effective but more believable. but anything else is valid, credible and even realist.. the scene with Georges's sister is touching , the scene with the maid is moving and bitter,the shoe shop scene ,the opening sequence and some others are hilarious. but the car shop one is gone too far..
oh well, another issue on the subplot,he is neither unfaithful nor abusive. I don't know what's the problem between harry and his wife. I think I would stand by harry's side like I did in "war of roses".
it's my first film about Down syndrome people, those forgotten souls(people now only care about and spend too much time and energy on blacks who are actually the real oppressors today)... -
two-rivers14 May 2001On the eighth day God created Georges. But the same as an eighth day doesn't fit into the week, Georges doesn't fit into the modern world: He has Down syndrome and is therefore marginalized by society, shunted off to an asylum after his mother's death four years ago. She was the only one who loved him.
Harry is another man that isn't loved anymore. His wife has left him, for reasons that she is unable to explain. He loses the love of his daughters, too, when he arrives too late at the railway station to collect the two kids, who wanted to spend the weekend with their father.
Harry is a highly ranked businessman. He knows all the rules that enable us to succeed in our modern meritocracy. But he has entered a state of crisis, which reaches a climax after the loss of the love of his daughters. He questions the sense of his life, without obtaining any definite results.
Harry and Georges meet. At first Harry tries to get rid of Georges, the same as all the others do. But Georges can't be shaken off. And it gradually dawns on Harry, how much he needs Georges, if he wants to get over his identity crisis. It is Georges who opens a new access to the world for him and who makes him view his life with different eyes. Friendship and human warmth take the place of calculating striving for success. It is no surprise that Harry now cannot avoid failing in his job.
Georges helps Harry to regain the recognition of the daughters. Even his wife has to admit that the fireworks which he organized were worth seeing. Nonetheless a reintegration into the old life is no longer possible. And the new one turns out to be nothing more than a dream with a time limit, which unstoppably will reach its end. The camera watches Harry and Georges from above, for one long minute, as they are both lying down in the grass, just savoring the moment. But the same as this minute will unavoidably go by, the friendship of the two men, which came into being in such a wondrous fashion, will not be long-lasting. Georges is destroyed by the impossibility of love to the opposite sex and can see no other way out but to commit suicide. Harry turns into a city tramp, who asks the car drivers that are waiting in front of the traffic lights for charity.
The movie describes modern meritocracy as a disastrous mechanism which devours positive values such as human warmheartedness or friendship. It is Georges, the mongol, who seems to be capable of showing the way out of the dilemma, but unfortunately his plea comes to a bad end. However, his failure does not necessarily have to mean that it is impossible or not desirable to reach the aspired goal. The way he shows us is surely passable, although it requires a huge amount of willpower and, above all, the courage to apply a radical nonconformism. -
jokerharleen12 November 2012I have not watched many French-language films in my lifetime, but The Eighth Day and Amelie are way up there on my list of favourite movies. Perhaps it's just overexposure to the monolithic crap Hollywood mass produces today, but these films have an atmosphere that are like a breath of fresh air. Even with (or perhaps because of) little to no special effects to bedazzle you, you are immersed before you know it. The spontaneity and sheer oddness of some of the scenes add to the charm of the film, as does the tumultuous and unlikely friendship between a workaholic and a man with Down's syndrome. The Eighth Day gives you something to reflect on, a pause from the fast paced lifestyles we are caught up in today.
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The_Triad19 January 2007The Eighth Day is supposed to be a charming experience, but I found it to be largely irritating and dull.
The film focuses around Harry, played by Daniel Auteuil, a salesman who's life is falling apart. Stuck in his daily routine, estranged from his wife and failing to be a father to his children. This, cut-and-paste character then meets Georges, a guy with Down's Syndrome who proceeds as we all know by now to help him turn his life around and get back to being a father to his kids.
The problem is that we are given no insight as to why Harry puts up with Georges after the initial meeting. Harry's life is in a bad enough state as it is, it's completely implausible that he'd risk losing his job by taking time off to try and get Georges to his mother's house. The humour completely misses the mark, instead of showing us why Harry is putting up with this guy, we are treated to a series of irritating, unfunny skits in which Harry bears the brunt of Georges mishaps.
The film reaches its peak when Georges remembers it's Harry's daughters birthday and along with other people from his home steal a bus, take Harry out of a conference, set off some fireworks, et viola! Harry is a good father again and now he can see the kids. For a film that is supposed to be grounded in realism (despite its poor attempt at a fantasy/reality message) this is completely implausible and unbelievable. Add to this the demise of Georges character, which I cannot fathom as to how people have been in tears at, as he is surely one of the most irritating characters ever created.
The best thing about the film is it does have two great performances from its two leads, but these are not good enough for me to recommend that anyone sit through it. A lot of comments for this film has suggested its similarity and superiority to Rain Man, this is not so in my eyes, this is a watered down sub-standard effort with none of Rain Man's humour or warmth. -
Chrysanthepop11 April 2013With 'Le Huitième Jour' director Jaco van Dormael tells us a moving tale of two complete strangers (who couldn't be more different from each other), whose paths cross as they travel opposite directions. After this odd encounter, together, both take turns heading towards each other's destinations but with heartbreaking results. However, this journey allows them to find something they didn't know they were looking for.
Let's get the flaws out of the way: Certain scenes may feel a little dramatic but it still remains within the tone of the film, never looking out of place. Even though Harry and Georges are the primary focus of the film, some of the important supporting characters are poorly developed, especially Georges's hating sister and Miou Miou's Julie.
But those minuses aside, is 'Le Huitième Jour' a road movie (the landscapes are dazzling)? Is it a study of two characters? Is it a 'buddy' movie (certainly not the typical Hollywood kind)? Is it a dramedy?
It's poetry. The film, in a way, moves from one genre to another but it flows beautifully. The balance in humour, and intensity is first rate. The jokes work well and the timing is just right. I did find the ending to be a tad too dramatic.
What Georges shows the viewer is that, while people desire similarities, it is our differences that make us unique. Yet, that is the very reason why Georges is rejected by the 'real world'. What Harry further shows is that none of these supposed similarities that people look for in each other matters because acceptance, respect, being open to possibilities and being true to oneself are what will bring the greater joy.
'Le Huitième Jour' is stunningly filmed and wonderfully acted. Pascal Duquenne and Daniel Auteuil are superb. Duquenne delivers a very natural performance and Auteuil is terrifically restrained. They are well supported by Isabelle Sadoyan, Michele Maes and the two actors who play Harry's daughter.
'Le Huitième Jour' engages you right from the start. It's funny, intense, enlightening and reaches straight for the heart. -
Sylviastel17 February 2007I saw this film first on my way home from Paris to Newark aboard Air France in August 1996. The film itself I believe is quite a masterpiece. It's the kind of film that people should be making. I still think Daniel Auteuil is one of the sexiest actors around. In this French film, he plays a divorced father and businessman who has lost his zest for life until he across a Down Syndrome man who lives in an institution with other Down Syndrome patients. The actors including the actor who actually has Down Syndrome create a believable friendship and relationship between these two unlikely men. Daniel's life and ours changes forever with the Down Syndrome man. He realizes that life is not just work and not play but for the living and loving and that's what life should be all about. The ending is kind of silly though but I still think it's one of my favorite movies. It's enough to bring a tear to your eye.
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andrew-811-63978327 October 2013I watches this movie not expecting much. Actually I thought that it would be depressing, maybe boring, maybe both. But from the first minute it's really good and keeps it up throughout. You feel a real empathy with the characters, the acting is excellent, the story is excellent as well. I think it is more of an experience than a movie, it really feels like you have lived something unique and became a little bit more human and aware of the beauty and fragility of life by the end. As a criticism, there were a few moments when it seemed overly optimistic to the point of being a little bit unrealistic, but this did not ruin the film for me. I think it's one of the most positive movies I have ever seen, very funny and deep at the same time. I don't remember what part I started crying on, but I was laughing so hard that I ended up crying, and then I cried because it was sad... A genuine emotional reaction. i think this is my new favorite movie and i will recommend it to everyone.
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per_jaderbrink12 August 2009The number of times I've had tears in my eyes when watching a movie are few. And there is only one time when I have really cried and that was when I saw this movie. This movie has some kliches but I really don't care. I cry even as I write this and it was quite some time since I saw it. It is perfectly acted and all the production values are good, but what really matters is the simple and wonderful message. We all know it in our hearts, but it is not always easy to remember that the only thing that really matters in life is LOVE in all it's forms. It's only when we love that we're truly alive. I know how sentimental I sound and I promise I'm not usually like that. I'm quite a cynic. This movie has brought out stronger feelings of both sorrow and happiness in me than any other movies and it will probably always be the first movie I recommend others to see.
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An extraordinary movie that will make you laugh and cry. Full of joy and happiness!
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BF-11 January 1999I picked this film up based on the plot summary and critics' quotes on the back of the box. I'm not big into foreign films, and didn't know what to expect. I don't really care for subtitles either. But I absolutely loved it! It has a simple, lovable quality that leaves you feeling good about life. I found myself laughing out loud repeatedly. I'd recommend this picture to anyone, even those who abhor foreign films with subtitles. This one makes it worth the effort.
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botavuan18 February 2023I was a fan of Daniel Autueil before watching this nasty film '. It started out very well, very Belgian - but then descended into a ludicrous story which became more and more rididulous.
What was the director trying to tell us ? That a frighteningly-shallow salesman of selling-techniques and a guy who has Down Syndrome can "bond" ? (Spare me the pseudo-egalitarian psycho-babble!) Sure, they might- but not as in a completely false scenario that even Hollywood would not cook up.
The whole film seemed to me to be a disturbing and patronising caricature which ran on sadistically far too long. It made me wonder about the people who combined to make this bourgeois-petting insult to Outsiders of all kinds, and especially those with Down Syndrome. At this point I should declare that I am 'on the autistic spectrum', and a 'maladjusted' child in 1950s Belfast. I am still prone to sudden outbursts of rage, especially against people of authority or their minions.. -
Aimee Natal7 April 2000This film is about 2 worlds colliding- the one of a yuppie motivational speaker on the fast track, the man Harry, and the other of another man, Georges, who has Downs Syndrome.
The cinematography alone is so fresh and exciting- as a visual feast alone the film is worth watching. But the story! Takes you by surprise- its richness and depth.
I just viewed it last night and the scene of the ballet class inside the "mental institution" was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen via a television or movie screen.
I also haven't laughed so hard in a long time. The laughter of Harry is infectious. Enough to break through Georges hard shell... -
martinpersson9720 October 2021Only an acclaimed director such as this could have made something so masterful!
It's a very sweet and well-acted movie, with lots of well-written humour and drama- but also a lot of metaphorical and allegoric scenes exploring the human psyche through the eyes of the mentally challenged protagonist.
It's truly a beautiful and masterfully put together film that's sure to leave us both smiling and thinking. -
If you would like to see a film of different kind, if you feel the Love in your heart, even if you miss the Lord, this film makes you think. Although Georges is mentally handicapped, you can see the ultimate intelligence at the end, when love gives you directions not the brain. I am not emotional, but this film makes you feel the human being. The film is as good as Forrest Gump in my belief. The foreign movies are sometimes more interesting, yet there is not enough advertisement to make them popular. "Rang-e khoda" (The Color of The God) by Majid Majidi is another example of such foreign movies, almost with similar taste.
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I came across this film by chance on television many years ago. I'm glad I saw it; it's a beautiful Belgian film that has such warmth and tears of humanity in it.
The film is based on two men who meet and become friends: Georges, an autistic person who has spent most of his life in an institution, leaves to visit his family and encounters Harry, a successful businessman who has neglected his family. The performances by their actors (Daniel Auteuil and Pascal Duquenne) are wonderfully passionate and complement each other very well, they make such a perfect couple that both actors shared a Cannes award for their acting.
The film parallels the French literary classic "The Little Prince", where two different characters travel and bond together. One is steeped in the harshness of reality and learns to appreciate kindness and the wonders of life; the other is a childlike figure who follows fantasy and learns about maturity and sacrifice of adulthood. In both tales the two must part ways in a bittersweet ending (alas), as one is far too unreal to last long in the world, but at least his presence has changed the other's life for the better.
The two actors are so good that one nearly overlooks the director who gave them a great setup. The direction and story, both done by Jaco Van Dormael, provide a wonderful yet reasonable setting that blends magic and reality in a masterful and subtle manner.
I only saw this film once, but it has stayed with me throughout the years. It's one of those special films that everyone should watch. -
ElMaruecan8222 December 2017"The Eight Day" is really one of a kind! It doesn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to teach us about life's simple beauty and beautiful simplicity but there's something in the way it's done that is just too weirdly daring to ignore. Sure the film sins sometimes by sentimentality, but there's more to enjoy in that atypical and powerful journey from Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael.
It starts with a young man named George (Pascal Duquenne), he has Down syndrome and the film opens with a voice-over narration that leaves no doubt about it. It's a succession of little poetic vignettes, echoing the chapters from the genesis no religion here, each day is about some beautiful bit of randomness created by God, and I had no problem accepting that George was the eight day's creation. The film even confronts the offensive slur "Mongoloid" to its own origin and we see, from George's vision, the Mongols as a civilization of horsemen and conquerors, nothing to belittle.
And George, as his own destiny's conqueror, decides one day to go looking for his mom. He lives in an institution where he's got friends, even a love interest who dances ballet and people who treat him nicely, but he still puts on his 'Sunday dress', takes his luggage and leaves. It's easy to get over-analytical and talk about existential impulses but this is a film where I think the right angle of discussion is never "Why?" but "Why not?" The Down syndrome is integral to that approach, not to mention its emotional impact.
Indeed, here's a disease where we expect a certain pattern of behavior, many of them to be 'embarrassing', but we're not in George's mind and we can never really tell whether it's a manifestation of the syndrome or his colorful personality. So we start to look at his behavior under a different scope as the handicap is never played as a 'gimmick'. George knows his "difference", and each effort he makes to fit in the world inevitably crashes into its reality. There's a heartbreaking moment involving a waitress, where we feel his devastation without blaming her reaction.
That's the power of "The Eighth Day", it transcends the limits of the handicap but never at the expenses of common sense by sugarcoating it. And it accomplishes this feat by showing that there's something in the core of that syndrome that can inspire people: goodness, attention, simplicity and a little bit of madness. It's tricky to make such a point without being condescending or patronizing, but this is where George's co-lead, plays his part. We have to see another man who can benefit from George's presence.
This man is Harry, perfectly sane, mentally and physically. Played by Daniel Auteuil, Harry's a motivational speaker for young executives to be, working for some corporate nightmare named Future Bank, all in gray walls and black ties and suits. When we first see Harry, he's caught in the same weekly routine, regurgitating every day the same rhapsody: how to smile, to be convincing, self-confident. Everyone's drinking his words but we don't two reasons: a/ this 90's speeches have become a cliché by now and b/ it's so repetitive we suspect Harry doesn't even believe his own crap.
In a way, Harry is also entrapped in a series of patterns that deprive his life from a substantial meaning. In reality, he's divorced, he can't see his children and it's very fitting that he meets George at a moment where he was teasing death. The man was at the verge of a breakdown and it's George who tries to help him looking at the bright (or at least simple) side of life. This sounds like the premise of "Rain Man" with Tom Cruise being replaced by a mix of Michael Douglas' "Gordon Gekko" and D-Fens but George is no Raymond Babbit, his intelligence is different.
I can say it's from the heart but it wouldn't be true because George suffers a lot on that level. The tragedy of George is that he's never got not even a parcel of love back while he's got so much to give, the only member of his family who can take care of him, dismisses him because she feels she has the right to live her life. That was a scene of raw intensity and honesty because once again, we can't blame the rejection, and it's pivotal moment that cements the friendship between George and Harry.
"The Eight Day" becomes a poignant and funny buddy road movie where you can feel the bond growing between the two men. A young man with visions of Latin French singer Luis Mariano popping out of nowhere and a corporate victim with no visions whatsoever. How can that friendship be possible? As viewers, we're confronted to that question as well. There's a moment where George goes all berserk in a shoe store, I guess I would have bought whatever he needed so he can shut up, but boy, would have I loved to experience one minute of silence lying silently on the grass. Sometimes, the film does take you places.
Of course, there's another side of the coin the story cleverly dodges. Anyone going through Harry's phase would immediately lose his job. Sure, you got all the time to admire a ladybug, still, that won't but I don't think it will make you much a happy person in the long term. We should all go a little mad sometimes, but brief madness would be more befitting. Maybe the film goes deliberately over-the-top with its own material (some situations are unbelievable and unrealistic, some "normal" characters act in a very weird way) to warn that after all, this is all just a fable.
But this fable has some heart, truth and greatness about it and the chemistry between pals Pascal Duquenne and Daniel Auteuil, both winners of the Cannes Festival's Prize, really make the film! -
My all-time favorite movie! I have seen many movies, but this one beats them all! Excelent acting, wonderful story. You will, as a "normal" caring person start to love George. Altough he is an actor, he is also himself and a very lovable person. And maby most important thing: you will learn to respect & look different to people with Down Syndrome.