100 Things

Je jurerais que quand j’ai passé une semaine en Allemagne en mars dernier, c’est le chiffre 99 qui trônait sur toutes les affiches. Aurais-je affabulé ? Le propos du film reste parfaitement actuel à notre époque, mais la mise en œuvre par Florian David Fitz n’a pas tout à fait fonctionné, car le cinéaste a infusé le scénario de trop de thèmes sans avoir le temps d'approfondir quoi que ce soit. C’est qu’il n’est pas donné d’écrire un scénario, de tourner un film et, en plus, de jouer le rôle principal. Dommage que ça n’ait pas marché, parce que ce film avait beaucoup de potentiel. Quoi qu’il en soit et si du moins je n’affabule pas sur les chiffres, il a eu son petit succès en Allemagne. C'est toujours ça de pris. (20/12/2019)

Another of those pleasant German comedies from recent years, which are funny just enough to receive average rating. They neither offend you nor take your breath away; you have fun but don’t need to see them again. This particular one, however, has a bonus in the form of an unorthodox view of the consumerist society, which made me add one star to my rating. (05/02/2020)

I'm a sucker for a film that triggers debate and makes me think. And 100 Things had a lot of potential to spark some passionate debate. I'm quite surprised the film doesn't have a higher rating. Because putting such a good idea – and one borrowed from real life – into a pretty good comedy is a great thing, in my opinion. Sure, the app thing was a bit over the top, but it had to start and end somehow. 4.5 stars (02/11/2020)

Probably the most original comedy of the last few years and surprisingly from the Germans. Two best friends drunkenly bet that they will give up all their possessions for 100 days, with the understanding that they can get one thing back every day. A great premise that makes for a number of comical situations and when you add in the two likeable protagonists you've got a winner. The film manages to mine emotion towards the end as well and I was both pleasantly surprised and pleased with the whole experience. 80%. (20/06/2019)

100 Things should be listed as drama in addition to comedy, because although it is at first glance a humorous probe into a world full of consumerism and materialism, it also deals with quite serious issues such as consumerism, truth vs lies, old age vs youth and various relationship peripeties, from family, to partnership to friendship. Apart from the premise, the film attracts through the cast, which was really good: I love Florian Fitz and Matthias Schweighöfer, and they were well supported by Miriam Stein, Hannelore Elsner and Katharina Thalbach (hidden under a ton make-up). The idea of the mobile app was both imaginative and bizarre, and even though the film slips slightly into American cliché towards the end, I still left the cinema satisfied. Given that it's all nicely written and well acted, I didn’t even mind so much in the end that the film doesn't tell much more than I had already learned from other, similarly made films, or simply from my surroundings. (04/08/2019)