Vincent has recently been fired from his job as a financial planner. He had been living an upper middle class life in eastern France--nice home, loving wife, three young kids. He does not tell his family about his being fired, and not just because he does not want to face the humiliation. He remarks that his old job used to require his driving long distances and that was the only time he was happy. He said that he could just drive forever listening to music in a thoughtless state. In fact, that is how he lost his job, he would be so in the moment when driving that he would miss his turnoffs. That seems to be what Vincent wants, just to cruise in neutral without the obligations of job and family.
When Vincent lost his job he entered into a sort of fantasy world where he made up a position as a worker for the United Nations as a manager who would set up teams of managers to set up companies in Africa. He would seek and get investors based on this falsehood. Lest this scam sounds unbelievable, recall that this was in a time when any crazy scheme seemed to be making money and investors wanted in on the action (think Bernie Madoff). It's ironic that the job environment that Vincent had been cut loose from endowed him with the skills to run the scam he did.
When Vincent walks the halls of various businesses, where people are in meetings, exchanges are taking place between boss and secretary, phone calls are being taken, paperwork being filled out, it looks like important stuff is happening. But the undercurrent is that there is more busywork going on than anything of value. However, you do see the human value of belonging to the social structure of a corporation.
As Vincent, Aurélien Recoing is skillful in capturing the illusory world that he has entered. Karin Viard, as Vincent's caring and concerned wife, is particularly good.
At some level Vincent knows that his time out must end. As evidence of this we see him paying back a friend that he had taken money from as an investor. There is a powerful scene toward the end where Vincent's whole family confronts him and he absconds by jumping out the window. From there he literally spends time lost in the wilderness.
The final scene has Vincent being offered a high level job where he would have a staff of eight and a lot of responsibility. You would think that that would be a happy ending, but as Vincent's eyes slid to the side as the job was being explained to him, this was for me a depressing ending, since I sensed he was soon going to be right back where he was when he was wandering in the dark. It will be but another chapter in the life of a man who never really made a decision about what he wanted to do, but rather just went with the flow and followed the money and society's pressures. It is a commentary on how so many well paying jobs now amount to moving bits around in computer memories, and dealing with paperwork and phone calls. And how for many people those jobs provide such little meaning and satisfaction.
When Vincent lost his job he entered into a sort of fantasy world where he made up a position as a worker for the United Nations as a manager who would set up teams of managers to set up companies in Africa. He would seek and get investors based on this falsehood. Lest this scam sounds unbelievable, recall that this was in a time when any crazy scheme seemed to be making money and investors wanted in on the action (think Bernie Madoff). It's ironic that the job environment that Vincent had been cut loose from endowed him with the skills to run the scam he did.
When Vincent walks the halls of various businesses, where people are in meetings, exchanges are taking place between boss and secretary, phone calls are being taken, paperwork being filled out, it looks like important stuff is happening. But the undercurrent is that there is more busywork going on than anything of value. However, you do see the human value of belonging to the social structure of a corporation.
As Vincent, Aurélien Recoing is skillful in capturing the illusory world that he has entered. Karin Viard, as Vincent's caring and concerned wife, is particularly good.
At some level Vincent knows that his time out must end. As evidence of this we see him paying back a friend that he had taken money from as an investor. There is a powerful scene toward the end where Vincent's whole family confronts him and he absconds by jumping out the window. From there he literally spends time lost in the wilderness.
The final scene has Vincent being offered a high level job where he would have a staff of eight and a lot of responsibility. You would think that that would be a happy ending, but as Vincent's eyes slid to the side as the job was being explained to him, this was for me a depressing ending, since I sensed he was soon going to be right back where he was when he was wandering in the dark. It will be but another chapter in the life of a man who never really made a decision about what he wanted to do, but rather just went with the flow and followed the money and society's pressures. It is a commentary on how so many well paying jobs now amount to moving bits around in computer memories, and dealing with paperwork and phone calls. And how for many people those jobs provide such little meaning and satisfaction.