IMDb plot summary: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.
Directed by Tom Tykwer. Starring Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Hurd-Wood.
(Very mild spoilers about the ending.)
This is an intriguing one. The movie it actually kept bringing to mind for me was Moulin Rouge!, because it's much less about the believability or realism of the story and much more about highlighting... sensations, I guess. Perfume almost feels like a very dark fairy tale, especially with the voiceover narrator telling the story.
So how did I feel about it? I found myself very drawn in, and as the credits rolled and I sat and thought about the movie, I decided I really, really liked it, though it's hard for me to articulate exactly why. It *did* have somewhat the same effect on me as Moulin Rouge! (although to a lesser extent), and it was easy to get swept up in. I found the ending to be both chilling and darkly beautiful. And the soundtrack! Oh, my gosh, that soundtrack was incredible. I don't know if it's available to purchase, but if it is, I must find it immediately. Since the movie can't actually let us experience the movie by smell, it compensated beautifully with its use of music.
In conclusion... a confusing movie, but I loved it, and I feel like it's only going to go higher and higher in my estimation as I let it sit with me. 4.5 stars.
Flickchart: #382 out of 2021, below The City of Lost Children and above Iron Man. Should possibly be higher, since I think The City of Lost Children is too low.
Stream it free on Amazon Prime or rent it for $2.99.
1 comment:
Yay!
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