Review of 99 Francs (2007) by Anthony N — 20 Aug 2008

This is not an attack to Jan Kounen's movie 99 Francs but rather a compliment to Frédéric Beigbeder's writing. 99 Francs tells the story of a twenty something working in a very successful marketing agency. One deal a famous yogurt company, begins his demise. He wakes up and realizes that the world isn't such a beautiful place like we see in advertisements on television and at the movies.

The movie stars Jean Dujardin (Brice de Nice and soon to be Lucky Luke) as Octave Parango which attacks consumerism and especially advertisement firms. The movie is solid, but the main problem is that a few years ago I breezed through Frédéric Beigbeder's novel and it quickly became one of my favorite book. To see it on the silver screen was a bit different and it actually made me wish that I was re-reading the book instead. That being said, if you've never sat down and read Beigbeder then by all means sit through the 100 minutes movie. Jan Kounen (Doberman, Le Dernier Chaperon Rouge) had some very interesting ideas on how to shoot this movie and is certainly different than I expected.

What's interesting about Beigbeder is that his book is mostly about his own life experiences. Whether it was his battle with his conscience in the advertising world or his addictions to cocaine like the main character in 99 Francs.

If someone gave me the choice between a $10 movie or a $15 book, I usually hesitate, but this time it's easy run and open your spirit to one of the best writing you will ever read; the movie on the other hand is fun to watch but above average at the most.