France submits Untouchable for foreign language Oscar

Untouchable, an odd-couple comedy about a quadriplegic millionaire and his ex-con caregiver, has been selected as France's official submission for next year's foreign language film Oscar. Directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, the movie has become the highest-grossing French production ever, earning more than $360m at the global box office. It was distributed in the US by the Weinstein Company, which scored Oscar success earlier this year with The Artist . Untouchable was selected by a seven-member committee that includes Thierry Frémaux, president of the Cannes film festival, ahead of the 1 October submissions deadline. But in opting for a populist choice, the committee has snubbed a number of other, more critically acclaimed candidates – most notably Jacques Audiard's hard-hitting Cannes contender Rust and Bone. Audiard's previous film, A Prophet , received an Oscar nomination in 2010 but lost to the Argentinian thriller The Secret in Their Eyes. This year's best foreign language film Oscar was won by A Separation , an Iranian drama directed by Asghar Farhadi. Untouchable opens in the UK this Friday.