99 francs

This is definitely not a mainstream movie.

If you are finding yourself ever and ever trying to go deeper in peoples minds and thoughts, this film is made for you.

If you are a creative being, such like a programmer or designer, or simply wants to know what is going on in the world of high creative common this film is made for you.

If you like psych, weired, mess people you will like this film too.

But if you are not feeling addressed now, it could happen that you will feel this movie as a waste of time.

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Have fun

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.

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.

The first question that comes to mind when you ear about this project is : what the hell is Jan Kounen doing as a director of such a movie ? Jan Kounen was a french talented and trendy director of the 90's, just as his friend Matthieu Kassovitz. He released "Doberman" when Kasso brought "La Haine" on french screens. But after this violent/cartoon movie, Jan Kounen had discovered Shamanism while directing his experimental trip out of (the blues) "Blueberry" and then made a documentary about inner journey and other substantial trips. "99 Francs", on the other hand is an auto-fiction by the french intellectual bobo Beigbeider, that narrates his experience as a publicist in a satirical and fashionable style. So, my question was : what's the link between this director and this book and what the hell is Jan Kounen doing as a director of such a movie ?

First, from a factual point of view, Kounen and the main and incredibly credible actor of the movie, Jean Dujardin, have them-self been publicists, and decided to take the book as a starting point, and to go on completely different directions. Beigbeder, who appears several times in the movie, agreed to this betrayal. But this critic of the advertising world isn't the best part of the movie, and only seems to be a support for more experimental journey that only drugs can give.

The character of the movie inhales himself several time a gargantuesque quantity of cocaine, unknown pills and other drugs, that makes him have gigantic visions that the movie emphases. A large parts of the movie is just a description of absurd visions, that links the cartoon and trash violence of "Doberman" with the experimental form of "Bluebberry" in the funny and cool package of a critic of advertising and a large public comedy. The best part of "99 Francs" is to me an improbable escape to the tropical forest of "Bluebberry", with Jan 'Pydjhaman' Kounen like guide. If Yan Kounen defines is movie as the "Yogourt Fight Club", the film is also near from Gilliam's more experimental and crazy works.