This is a deeply moving film, dealing with a difficult subject - autism - in a no-holds-bared fashion. The acting is first rate. The story is admirably structured. I was surprised when it ended, which means it moved right along. The audience I saw it with was left speechless at the end, and for good reason. This is NOT a feel-good movie in the American sense. But it is a deeply humane movie, with real people and not flat stereotypes. It should earn a lot of very deserved awards.

Bruno and Malik couldn't be too different. Bruno is Jewish, Malik is Arab. Bruno is a loner Malik is a family man. But they are united to help children with autism. And this passion drives every day of their life. We often forget what a definition of a good person is. In THE EXTRAORDINARY it's those who don't look away and don't give up when things get hard. Once again the duo Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano (The Intouchables) wrote and directed a film about real people standing up to great hardships, and they've done it with a lot of heart, humour and no preaching. The film's first shot could be one from a thriller - a young girl is running from her pursuers through the city steers, only to be caught and drugged into a van, which quickly drives away. This is a common theme of the film - a fight with preconceptions. What seems like a kidnapping is actually a rescue mission. Nakache and Toledano created a perfect style of story telling - through small character story arcs and anecdotes they speak of a greater things, creating a versatile canvas of the world their characters live in. The other strength is in choosing their cast: Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb are at the peak of their popularity in France and have a perfect chemistry. The script is written with honesty, clarity, irony and humour and can only be described as perfect. With its themes of following one's calling and challenging the rules society creates for the problems it doesn't understand, THE EXTRAORDINARY is deep and emotionally satisfying experience.

This is probably not the best movie this year in any particular aspect. It is the fact that it's outstanding in many of them which makes it one of the memorable ones for me. Sure, the story is made to please. There's no twist in the plot or sophistication in the narration technique. Nothing too innovative about it indeed. The message alone, however, is very powerful, despite its predictability. Add a well-measured balance of dramatic and hilarious moments, a story that moves fast along with remarkable acting, and the movie stands. You'll get the best out of it if you watch it in French, of course. Very certainly worth one's time.