It’s made $343,746,617 worldwide and is the highest-grossing non-English language movie ever, has been out for just under a year, and is still showing in 28 countries.

So why has its American distributor The Weinstein Company, known for mounting exorbitant and successful campaigns for Oscar gold, been struggling to find bigger audiences for “The Intouchables” in America?

Opening this weekend at Liberty Hall, the French film “The Intouchables” was voted the cultural event for last year in that country with more than 52 percent of all votes in a poll. The movie revolves around a wealthy quadriplegic (Francois Cluzet) and his unlikely friendship with the man he hires to be his live-in caretaker. Driss (Omar Sy) is his name and he’s a Senegalese orphan living off welfare who is surprised at the extent of assistance his new, rich boss needs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olhg1suvE60

The movie has barely made $8 million in its slow trek across the country since may and still has a ways to go before it reaches the critical mass needed to win Oscar nominations.

My question is this: What is it about the film that makes it so popular overseas and why are U.S. audiences not connecting with it? Or is it not the film at all…Is it Weinstein’s slow-roll strategy?

I can tell you why I haven’t seen it yet. From the preview and everything I’ve read about it, it looks like another “Driving MIss Daisy”-type film where the magical negro teaches the privileged white character what living is all about and what they are missing. Here are some more examples of what I’m talking about:

Spike Lee called Will Smith in “The Legend of Bagger Vance” the “super-duper magical negro”. “The Green Mile” topped The AV Club’s list of 13 Movies Featuring Magical Black Men. Kia Miakka Natisse from The Grio said plainly: Morgan Freeman, it’s time to retire the ‘Magical Negro’ role.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGlP1wCt65g

That said, I’ve read plenty of people acknowledge the stereotype and say that “The Intouchables” rises above it — that it’s a heartwarming, funny tale regardless.

Otherwise, opportunities at Southwind for new movies are pretty grim this week. In Kansas City, the Alamo Drafthouse is opening a Danish quasi-documentary/shockumentary called “The Ambassador” by a crazy filmmaker named Mads Brügger.

Get this: He discovers shady brokers who deal in obtaining diplomatic credentials, buys one himself (very wrong and illegal) and heads to Africa as a Liberian diplomat.There he meets powerful and corrupt government officials who he bribes in order to get involved in the awful, tragic blood diamond trade.

He uses specially designed hidden cameras, filming his secret meetings with these powerful men.The deeper he gets, the more dangerous the criminals he meets, and the less hidden their agendas become. The movie is disturbing and showcases the famous phrase the “banality of evil.”

At the same time, “The Ambassador” is frustrating because as fearless as he is, Brügger doesn’t have the seasoned comic chops of Sacha Baron Cohen or the storytelling chops of Michael Moore. Some of his satire seems out of focus, and not all the “jokes” are funny, but “The Ambassador” is still a fascinating movie that deserves to be seen.

Also opening in Kansas City (and on Video On Demand right now) is “[REC] 3: Génesis,” the third movie in the popular Spanish faux-reality found-footage handheld-camera style horror series. This one is unique because it ditches the realistic feel a quarter of the way through and tells a traditional love story of a bride and groom torn apart due to circumstances beyond their control.

Of course, in this case “torn apart” could be literal as their entire wedding reception in a huge Spanish mansion is turned into a demonic-possession zombie fest. The crux of Paco Plaza‘s film is the relationship between bride and groom as they act out all kinds of stupid decisions in the name of wedded bliss.

Besides being a gory jackpot for horror fans, “[REC] 3: Génesis” gets a lot of mileage out of turning into a black comedy. As serious as the opening scenes at the wedding were, the zombie invasion is decidedly comedic, as is the true love that can’t keep the lucky couple apart.

And, no, you don’t have to have seen the first two to get this one … although perspective is never a bad thing.