Pluskylang Great Film overall

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Nursultan Tuite A good entertaining movie! Good movie, do not a comedy and parody, not just a film about drug addicts and irresponsible people. Film about the cynicism of our time on the venality of all. With the offer to see the world differently. The depth of the fall into the abyss of immorality. There is black humor and is not normative lexicon, as well as elements of eroticism and a lot of blood. The world of advertising so is business. The ending is so generally pleasantly surprised. Such an end, but as it turned out is not the end. Frankly I do not understand people who write something like "wasting time", etc. Movies must be different! And do not worry on the "worst film of the book." Just look!

jotix100 Octave, the creative talent of the advertising agency Ross & Witchcraft, spends most of the time in a drug induced fog. It is a miracle he can produce all those award winning commercials that everyone adore. If the unsuspecting viewers would only know how they are being manipulated into buying those products, they would be horrified. The makers of all those products seen in all the media, want to make a lot of money by saturating those 'captive' audiences sitting in front of their television sets, or reading a newspaper or magazine.As we come into the story, Octave is in the process of committing suicide. We watch in horror as he throws himself from the high rise in which he works, landing on a parked car. But this incident can be deceiving, as we get to learn. Octave's agency has been hired by the makers of "Starlight" a new lite yogurt to work on the concept that will generate the campaign for this product. When he comes out with an idea that is not what the dairy maker envisioned, he decides to go for a more palatable solution: he'll make a prostitute the star of the spots! That'll be his revenge!"99 francs", conceived and directed by Jan Kounen has a lot of great ideas going for it. The style which the director uses will appeal to the younger audiences that are probably targeted because they will see the silliness of the advertising world. At the end of the film we are told a lot of money goes yearly into this industry that create a false sense about things we don't really need, specially how the food industry wants us to eat exactly what will harm us.The film is worth a look because of Jean Dujardin's work. The actor is perfect in his portrayal of the guru that is paid obscene amounts of money just to anticipate what we, as humans, would buy in the future. Jocelin Quivrin plays his co-creator, Charlie. Vahina Giocante makes an impression with her Sophie. Elsa Tovati plays Tamara, the star of the commercials.

unnatural_habitat 99 Francs is French filmmaker Jan Kounen's critique of consumer culture, based on the book of the same title by Frédéric Beigbeder. After 1 hour and 40 minutes of slick film-making, replete with ironic references to famous ad campaigns, beautiful people and lots of sex and drugs and rock & roll, the movie ends with a meek call to action stating that with a mere fraction of the money spent on advertising each year, we could put an end to world hunger. This astonishingly lame ending undermines any value the movie might have had.I suppose the altruistic blurb at the end of the movie is the kind of palliative the filmmakers needed to include in order to convince themselves that their movie has a higher moral purpose. The question is, why do they even bother? In reality, it is just a story about a narcissistic, self-loathing fashion victim who sees the error of his ways. The great irony, of course, is that had they spent all their time and money on charitable projects instead of making this movie, they could have contributed much more to ending world hunger.Himself an ex-creative adviser for an ad agency, Beigbeder wrote 99 Francs under the encouragement of another famous French author, Michel Houellebecq. Octavo, the main character, hoovers cocaine in rails forming the numbers 666, pops whatever pills he can get his hands on, screws hookers, drives under the influence, and , in his spare time, works for France's most powerful ad agency as a creative adviser. After a drug-fueled escapade in which several people might have been hurt, he decides to redeem himself. The movie offers two endings - one happy, one sad - and they both have him renouncing his consumerist lifestyle: one treats him as a Christ-like martyr, the other has him living out a Rousseauian back-to-nature fantasy on an island. Grade school stuff, I know, but not so awful as it sounds.In the adept hands of Jan Kounen, the movie is visually-engaging, rhythmic, and yes, entertaining. The problem is the story. Just like the book, the overall feeling is one of disingenuousness. Remember the scene in Fight Club where Tyler Durden goes on about the superficiality of our consumer lifestyle? "You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your f***ing khakis." Somehow, a hot-$hit guy dressed in fashionable clothes isn't the most convincing of anti-consumerism preachers. That's kind of what happens in 99 Francs.Even with the main character's redemption, 99 Francs gives the impression that it is more intent on looking cool than trying to open people's eyes to the evils of consumerism. Basically, Jan Kounen and Frédéric Beigbeder deliver us the cinematic equivalent of putting a "Stop Global Warming" bumper sticker on a gas-guzzling Hummer.

medjai27 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.