5 out of 5

Director: Tom Tykwer

Tom Tykwer has been picking and choosing his projects over the years, ending up with a rather varied display of works that show an incredible appreciation for film and audiences. “Perfume” is an engrossing, amazing combination of these passions. Note that the subtitle is “the story of a murderer” and not “the story of a murder.” Indeed, Perfume is more about the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille – a child born in disgusting conditions but with a super-human sense of smell – than about the extents to which his condition drives him. In other words, the film is more about the journey AND the destination, as opposed to just the latter, as any great movie should be. What’s initially notable about this movie is just how filthy (set-wise) it is. Everything has a gritty, dirty, grimy feel, and I appreciated how everyone was depicted as such – even the nobles had bad teeth. It really highlights the sense of realism and is a great juxtaposition for how Jean-Baptiste only relates to the world through smells. Ben Whishaw’s performance as the lead is also amazing. This is a character who ends up doing and causing some pretty vile things, and yet it’s shows with this brilliant combination of innocence and evil, through excellent application of acting subtleties and also the shooting style – the camera is not voyeuristic, but it’s also not uninvolved. It has a very organic feel, from start to finish. Whatever. I was struck dumb by this movie after watching then started loving it more and more as I thought about it – also a sign of a good movie. And apparently it remains fairly respectful to the book, which has made the literary kids happy as well. Slow and ponderous but quite frequently disturbingly beautiful, Perfume is a rare instance of film that works on several levels successfully.