99 francs

This movie is in a way better than the book. That does not mean much because it is obviously a subjective remark, but there is a plot you can enjoy, and enough creativity in the montage and the way the film is made to obtain an original "product". Visually it is new, and good. It is all very artistic and graphic, without hindering the scenario. You get to see the beauty of superficiality and the cold hard reality of depression and drug abuse behind excessive behaviors. It is a succession of canvases with an elaborate plot. The acting is just great (Jean Dujardin, Vahina Giocante,...), and you follow the characters into their life introspection without doubting a second of how much real they all are. Paradoxically, you will laugh. The few appearances of the author, F. Beigbeder are, you could think, to remain you of the fact that this film was inspired from a book since you tend to forget that fact and enjoy a new story. There are so much novelty in the narration that you enjoy the film with a new eye, as a new story. If you read the book, you'll find some nice reminder and an inch of novelty to adapt the film to 2007. If you have never heard of the book, you will have a nice display of the secrets of how to sell anything through commercials thanks to the advertising business. You will also get to grasp the meaningless of it all. The film is slightly political, but it does not force your judgment with subliminal messages and ready-made ideas. That way, it's always entertaining. It's sometimes a loud movie, but it's definitely worth the ticket seat. This film is truly original and provides a real cinema experience.

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.

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.

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.

I never read the book of Beigbeder and so I was eager to see the movie after hearing many positive views on the book and knowing that the visuals of a Kounen Movie will be great. I didn't expect this movie to be so much of a comedy because the subject is rather tough. Anyway I think "99 francs" works really good on the level of a satire and it captures the deeply rooted cynicism that is implanted in the world of marketing and PR (in my opinion you can't work in this industry without becoming a total cynic) very well. I just loved the honesty in how the meetings and decisions were described as "masturbation" and how the main actors spend most of their time being high on drugs and their ego. Since the subject is so damn messed up I think approaching and ridiculing it with comedic elements made the movie more enjoyable. You will get many good laughs as well as following the comedy some direct punches to the stomach. All served in perfect visuals with loads of great ideas melting the flashbacks and development of main character Jean Dujarding together. The movie starts of practically with its end and then fast-rewinding to the beginning of how Jean ended up in Marketing but Jeans back story is shown in a very superficial way. You don't really know too much of him and rather see him on his job with his over-the-top cynic boss Marc and his slacker colleague Charlie. Like in every movie it takes a woman in the form of trainee Tamara to get the humanity out of Jeans character. They start an affair but when Tamara gets pregnant things get too serious and Jeans cynical world starts to implode leading to more and more harsh pictures breaking up the colorful advertising world.

Until the first ending I think the movie already made its point by presenting a fake world of cynics with their ridiculous everyday life and how they feel like gods. Unfortunately someone had the messed up idea of presenting the movie with an alternate ending, so you get a very long second version... I get the idea of making fun of how things usually turn out in Hollywood movies and in a perfect ad-world but I think 99francs really messes up its whole intention. Guess what, you get an alternative ending in which Jean finds his humanity and moves to a tropical island finding his peace and love. Yes, we know that advertising and Hollywood clichés are superficial but that point was made before and by playing with the rules even when making fun of them the movie gets entangled in what it wants do criticize and to my understanding falls flat on his face, not even stopping from letting you leave the movie with a preachy message printed on the screen.

Its kind of like making the whole movie again and then telling the viewer what to think and in that its more of what it criticizes than it was supposed to be. That is really a shame because the movie is filled with eye openers and visual gimmicks that make it fun to watch (although the last part kind of dragged for me). So still "99francs" is recommended viewing especially for everyone who doesn't work in or near the marketing industry. But I wished the movie left the viewer with a hard and direct punch to the face and thoughts spinning in his head to come to his own conclusion and not some "hahaha"-fun ending with a preachy moral presented like in a "World Aid" spot.