First Act. It starts on the beach of the Hôtel Beaurivage: under the flashes of photographers, the entire team of “99 Francs,” Jan Kounen’s film adapted from the best-seller by Frédéric Beigbeder published in 2000, is present. The director, the producer (Ilan Goldman), Jocelyn Quivrin (from Éric Rohmer’s “The Romance of Astrea and Celadon”), the hero’s alter ego, the lovely Vahina Giocante, the author, also an actor in the film, but above all Jean Dujardin. Here, he is at home!
He is the one everyone wants to capture on their film, especially the onlookers lost on the beach, astonished by their discovery and armed with their mobiles: Revealed by “Graine de star” in 1997, the hero of “Brice de Nice” is already a star and can boast a notable filmography.
Second Act. The next scene unfolds indoors, in a salon of the Hôtel Beaurivage, where the film’s staff will face the journalists. They appear visibly friendly. Here, we learn how Jean Dujardin was involved in this project, which owes more to the audacity and creativity of the director and producer than to financial means: no television channel accepted – except for Arte, with its limited resources – to sponsor the film. Understandably so! One does not cut the branch one is sitting on! The film is indeed an anti-advertising bombshell, corrosive and offbeat, explosive, and subversive. A standout in the French film scene (PCF).
The lack of resources forced everyone to surpass themselves. Director Jan Kounen seems to have doubled down on inventiveness, even including an animation scene, which moreover allows for conveying incredible excesses! As for Jean Dujardin, always excessive in this character of a drugged, detestable, and confused man, he apparently fears no ridicule, blending astonishingly into the character of Beigbeder: wig, glasses, the same nonchalant preciousness. “It was necessary to be very available to enter Jan’s cinema,” admits Jean Dujardin, who describes him as “creative and entertaining.” And it is true that despite the rather unsettling propositions, the very dark themes of drugs and suicide, the film provides a lot of fun. By his own admission, Jan Kounen owes much to the Monty Pythons… Jean Dujardin, who won’t, phew!, do a “Brice II” (“I will never be where you expect me!”), injected all his improvisational power, resulting in a lively character. Jan Kounen, supported by producer Ilan Goldman, prides himself on having made an off-circuit film, still possible in France, unimaginable in the United States!
Frédéric Beigbeder is pleased with this adaptation, which, while staying true to the spirit of his book, has managed to find the appropriate visual language!
If there is a secret to the success of the venture, it is certainly to be found in the enthusiasm of each of the protagonists…
Third Act. It’s the moment of truth. The face-off. A packed Pathé Masséna theater is there to discover “99 F” as a premiere. How the message will be perceived? Ovation or execution? Shocking images, static shots delivered, diverted references (Amélie Poulain) and nods, even in the soundtrack… the film captivates immediately, the audience reacts, and even amid the disgust of certain scenes, one cannot help but laugh. Defined by excess, the film is said to be below reality. Beigbeder will reveal that some dialogues are strict verbatims…
Thus, when everything is settled (after two endings… but we’ll leave you the surprise), and Jan Kounen and his comrades appear, in flesh and blood this time, the applause resounds without restraint! “Did you understand that it’s your story? Did you understand that you have crappy lives?” Beigbeder will express, highlighting the entire paradox of the situation…
The film, whatever the case, has the merit of reaching a wide audience, fans of “mainstream” cinema, yes, there is Jean Dujardin, alias “lead product!” while encouraging reflection. An achievement!
Release in theaters on September 26.
“99 F,” a film by Jan Kounen, Scenario and dialogues by Nicolas and Bruno
Adaptation by Jan Kounen
with the collaboration of Frédéric Beigbeder
Producer Ilan Goldman
With Jean Dujardin, Jocelyn Quivrin, Patrick Mille, Vahina Giocante, Elisa Tovati, Nicolas Marié, Dominique Bettenfeld, Antoine Basler, Perinti
