Like
Zodiac (reviewed below)
Tom Tykwer's Perfume is a film that did exceptionally well at the foreign box office but tanked in North America. Unlike
Zodiac, it's far more understandable why this film didn't appeal to American audiences.
The film follows the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (
Ben Whishaw) a man possessed with an extra-ordinary sense of smell. It's based on a novel of the same name by
Peter Suskind although the book is far more comprehensive and cerebral. In fact,
Stanley Kubrick once called it "unadaptable."
After a rough childhood at the mercy of abusive orphanages and labor masters Grenouille, lands an apprenticeship with a renowned Parisian perfumer played by
Dustin Hoffman. His fixation is bent on creating the most perfect scent, a scent that will drive people into sheer ecstasy. He believes women (specifically virginal beauties) have the best natural scent and his goal becomes to distill the scent from their bodies, preserving the aroma. Of course this distillation process requires smothering them in animal fat, shaving their hair, then boiling the removed fat, a procedure to which most girls are adverse. Thus, the body count rises as Grenouille's plan edges closer to it's orgasmic climax.
This is a film that's obviously not for everyone. The pacing is slow and sinister and the overall tone is disturbing. The climax will leave some balking while others will look beyond at the metaphorical implications of Grenouille's actions, indeed the whole story itself is a metaphor about hollowness of obsession. Some viewers will be able to sympathize with the Grenouille, whilst others will find him purely repugnant.
The cinematography is the film's strongest suit. Lush fields of jasmine, intricate perfume shops and labyrinthine castles fill the screen. The shots are are very carefully composed and so saturated that the film plays out like a morbid fairy-tale.
The DVD is being released tomorrow retailing at $19.99 and like
Zodiac it's pretty bare bones. There's one minor documentary that amounts to something you'd watch on
E!, but there's literally nothing else. Unlike
Zodiac there's no talk of a special edition coming out in the near future.
Perfume, although distinctly European in flavor, is definitely worth a look and it's possible that this film will garner a small cult following upon the release of the DVD.
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# posted by Benjamin Crossley-Marra @ 7/23/2007 04:27:00 PM
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