This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

"Viktor Vogel - Commercial Man" is a German film from 2001, so this had its 15th anniversary last year. It is the first theatrical release by writer and director Lars Kraume and the Italian/German filmmaker was still in his 20s when this came out. Having seen some of his more recent stuff, there is no denying that he clearly stepped up his game since then as his Fritz Bauer film was top-notch for example. This one here not so much. In these 105 minutes, we follow the life of a young man and how he breaks through on the professional level in the world of advertising, but at the same time deteriorates in terms of his likability and drifts away from his friends and the girl he loves. This case of morally questionable behavior through success in business is one you could witness in many many films already and I think most of the time it was better than here. This may also have to do with the fact that I didn't like lead actor Scheer a whole lot, but maybe it wasn't him, but the way the character was written. The supporting cast doesn't add much more either. Chulpan Khamatova's felt a bit odd and the fact that Schrader wasn't as bad as usual doesn't mean she was good.Apart from that, the story was also way too fast. It could have worked as a mini-series perhaps. But not as one film. The way the romance and friendship struggles were rushed in did not feel too great. And honestly the entire character transformation of Viktor did not feel authentic and same can be said about the career path rising quickly and then falling as quickly towards the end. It was all just too much for one film and honestly it also takes considerably away from how seriously you can take this film. In my opinion, it is more on the drama than on the comedy side. There were many scenes that sucked, but lets just mention one, namely when he presents his hunter supermarket idea for the first time and Schrader's character and the others immediately stand up, so we think she must have really hated it, but in fact she loved it. There is a great deal of make-believe in this one sadly. If there is anything this film succeeds at, then it is pointless entertainment, but as a character study or as even a film critical about current society, it is not even close to a success. And with the latter I mean the reference to how everybody in the business world is interchangeable and that it is a cold and ruthless place to exist. It never gets below the surface to that regard and that's a negative deal breakers as succeeding there is one of the major ambitions. To end the review still on a positive note, it can be noted that Götz George once again elevates the material here every time he is on screen and that he gives a bold portrayal that turns a pretty gimmicky character into something truly interesting. You never know with him if he is friend or foe. But George alone is not enough to make up for all the weaknesses here and the overall outcome. I cannot recommend checking it out. Instead I give it a thumbs-down and suggest you watch something else instead.

I tend not to be disappointed by films, since I usually have an intuitive sense on whether it will be good or not. But "Viktor Vogel" ,or as it's known in the States, "Advertising Rules!" (??) really let me down.For the first two thirds, I was really into the movie, even though the melodrama was typical and the main conflict was telegraphed from about 500 miles away. The situations were amusing. The characters were likable. It seemed to bring up some good points about the nature of consumerism and the purpose of one's life, which is more than you can ask from any given American film. But the last third slowed down significantly, and suddenly I became very bored. The ending, however, blew me away, in the worst possible way. I imagine the filmmakers standing around the set with a deadline looming and an incomplete script: "Man, I don't know how to end this damn movie! How are we supposed to solve the conflict? It's so huge!" "Well, let's have really random things come out of nowhere so the audience will go, 'Hey, that makes me think!' And then we'll end it right there, with no explanation as to what happened in the last five minutes."Don't get me wrong, I love weird, funky twists and weird, funky movies, but "Viktor Vogel" was not able to pull it off. It was like a pilot for a network comedy, only for the last ten minutes to be written by David Lynch at 2 AM, who had not read the beginning of the script.Enjoy it for what it is, but don't get your hopes up that it gets tied together at the end.5/10

"Viktor Vogel" is an excellent (German) movie about the (often shady) world of advertising. Very up to the point, very ironic, sarcastic, but realistic. The film is full of humor both British and German style. And the actress is very beautiful!!!! In short,it is the story of a young and talented art director (Viktor Vogel) who wants to work in an advertising agency, but the managers don't pay attention to him. However the lady who represents an automotive company who is the client of the advertising company, likes the style and ideas of Viktor and Viktor finds also precious inspiration in the young and beautiful artist Rosa Braun, who will help him find secure a bright future thanks to her ideas. In fact, Viktor and Rosa are totally complementary, idealistic and talented persons in a competitive world. Nice love story and nice story about the world of advertising.

Spoilers!!!!I think the ending would have been better if after he goes to the big meeting it shows him at his desk and A man ask him what "is it like to save the whole company", and he just smiles and says "Have I ever told you about my Father" And then the movie ends without showing what idea he pitched If death was just a long sleep with everlasting dreams, couldnt we be dead now.