Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

This is another movie I been avoiding as I didn’t like the title and I had no idea what the novel by Patrick Süskind was all about, as I haven’t read it but after seeing the movie I’ll will. So, this time I was wrong for avoiding it!

This movie is about the power of smell and is as great as a good aroma and as awful and putrid as a bad smell. Obviously you cannot “smell” a movie but this movie is as close as you can get to really smell everything they are showing. When in Provence you will almost smell the nicest aromas, while in Paris your nose will be totally offended.

This sort of fairy tale tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille that was born with a unique and extraordinary sense of smell. But he is obsessed with creating the best perfume in the world, get recognition and be like any today celebrity. According to me that’s exactly what he becomes a celebrity, but when he reaches the pinnacle, the top of his acceptance, he notices is not worth it. Okay the story is a lot more complex than my short description and some says that the book is darker than the movie, so be prepared to see a lot of things that most non-European consider disgusting –at least according to the viewers comments I read.

The movie is epic and has great cinematography even when they’re representing the poorest side of Paris. A great performance by all the leads and to me the best is Alan Rickman that’s always a pleasure to see his characterizations.

Have to say that the beginning is quite impressive, then about the middle gets a little slow and boring, but pickups great when in Provence, and almost at the end has a massive orgy scene hardly ever seen in a movie.

The movie has 10 wins and 13 nominations mainly in European awards and festivals. Absolutely not for all audiences, you have to like European cinema.