99 francs

This is a satirical black comedy about the hedonistic excesses of the prima donnas of the advertising world. Octave (Jean Dujardin) is the king of this world, feted and pampered, idolised by his entourage, showered with drugs, women and money, his life is one long over indulgent party, punctuated by the occasional brush with reality.

He comes down to earth with a bump when his girlfriend announces that she is pregnant, but unable to deal with the consequences of this real life problem, he takes flight into even more excessively decadent diversions. More parties, more drugs, more indolence. However his body inevitably calls "time out" from this constant abuse, and when he is hospitalised with an overdose, he begins to take stock of his life.

The film is full to bursting, overflowing with creative ideas. The imaginative, highly original and sometimes shocking imagery is rivetingly good. There are psychedelic graphics, animations, dreamlike fantasies, and collages of advertising slogans and magazine clippings all used to great effect.

Billed as a comedy, there is little humour, and what there is is very dark indeed. Whilst this film excels in raw creativity and inventiveness, it lacks a story. This probably explains why there are two endings, neither of which, in my opinion, works adequately. But it doesn't really matter, as there is so much on offer visually, that I was completely transfixed.

The name of the yoghurt manufacturer "Madone" is coincidentally similar to another well-known yoghurt "Danone" but also reads in English "Mad One". A tongue in cheek parody of the absurdities of the modern world of advertising which regrettably rings true on many fronts.

A clever, thoroughly modern film, which even a grumpy old man like me could enjoy!

Watching this film will give some critical ideas about consumerism, dirty ideas of ad business, also lifestyle of people working in advertising business in France. The ideas are different from all full of humor American TV series about advertisers (e.g. "I Dream of Jeannie" and others). The ideas are different, though there are many elements of black humor, criticism of machos' vices, The critical idea is the didactic message of the film. The film reminds that people would not die of hunger if more money are spent not for creating ads to increase turnover, also true critical insights about consumerism, the idea that advertising in many cases sell only dreams for some time.

The plot of the film is also full of visual experiments, some elements of animated cartoons, some repeated episodes which get more meaning at the end of the movie. Also the end of the film obviously make the viewer think more deeply about the nature of the change of the human being discarding commercial things.

It is worth to spend time watching this French film full of experiments and critical ideas about consumerism.

The book of Begbeider and the film are truly two different things, which add more ideas about critical insights about consumerism, advertising business.

If you can imagine what an episode of "Mad Men" might've been like if they let Quentin Tarantino direct an episode, that's what you get with "99 Francs," an extremely ambitious and darkly funny assault on modern capitalist consumer culture and our advertising-obsessed age.

As a guy who's worked on and off in advertising for years, I almost shut off the film in the first half-hour, because it seemed like a bunch of things I've seen before -- vain, handsome, narcissistic drug and sex obsessed self-hating ad agency Creative Director's career ascends as his personal life falls apart --- Been there, seen that, over and over.

But I stuck with it and as the movie goes on, it becomes increasingly ambitious and, finally, profound. The last half hour or so is INTENSE, and I recommend sticking through the credits. The point the film tries to make connects, if maybe a bit too obviously at the end, but it's still pretty powerful.

Not surprised this subversive, well-made film didn't get a US theatrical release. Hollywood would never dare make a picture like this.

This movie was made like a giant advertising with very rhythmic effects and fast moving pictures. At least, it will keep the eye entertained during the whole movie but there's more in it.

It describes in a fun way what everybody knows is a sad world. Drugs, sex parties, late work hours, pretentious people, and meetings with stupid people, this is the way it works in the advertising industry.

It's a very funny criticism of advertising and the way it's made. I feared it would not do justice to Beigbeder's excellent book but in fact it's quite good.

Most of all, Jean Dujardin is very good in his role. He could be one of those mens you see working at Publicis on the champs Elysees !

Some people may not like the movie because there is a lot of sex and drug taking inside the movie. Yet, it's a good social depiction of this world. Don't go with the children's (the rating is not very explicit about the real content of the film) and enjoy yourself.

Yesterday, I saw this movie in a sneak preview of a German cinema. In Germany this film is called 39,90 like the title of a book from Frédéric Beigbeder that is also an impeachment against the advertising industry. 99 francs is a funny, cruel and "sloping style" satire. It provides an funny and terrifying real insight into the world of advertisement. Coevally, this film is something like a personality profile of a man that is a victim the world he created. A unreal, pseudo-world, in which you can get everything for money.Nothing in 99 francs is subtle, like advertising isn't subtle. Advertising is mostly one: No, not annoying. It's repetition. The repetition of itself and - in content - of references in movies, literature and art. And so it's logical that this movies refers to all different culture historical things to charge consumerism. So there are allusions to "A Space Odyssey" or "Fight Club". I think you have to see this movie to make up your own mind because it's really hard to describe this visually stunning movie because feels like a roller coaster with lots of loops.