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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Country: USA, Language: English, 147 mins

  • Director: Tom Tykwer
  • Writer: Andrew Birkin; Bernd Eichinger
  • Producer: Bernd Eichinger; Julio Fernández

CGiii Comment

It was always going to be an uphill struggle...adapting Perfume - one of the greatest contemporary novels ever written.

A book about smell...visualized.

Tykwer certainly chose a fine production designer - it looks exquisite.

Some of the transitions are masterful.

Whishaw is perfect for the role. And, Hoffman's cameo is a jewel.

Süskind - he who shuns all publicity - will probably never reveal what he thought of the film...but, he did allow it to be made.

So, the writers who had - in their hands - his magical book - decided that they could do it justice. Pomposity or bravery?

Well...they couldn't - nowhere near to the perfection that Süskind achieved.

It's a short book - the film is rushed - faults of both writers and director.

It was pitched to the wrong audience - stop treating the audience like imbeciles that need to be spoon-fed.

There are just some books that should be left un-filmed - this is the book.

Read it - you will be transported.


Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille came into the world unwanted, expected to die, yet born with an unnerving sense of smell that created alienation as well as talent. Of all the smells around him, Grenouille is beckoned to the scent of a woman's soul, and spends the rest of his life attempting to smell her essence again by becoming a perfumer, and creating the essence of an innocence lost.

Cast & Characters

Ben Whishaw as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille;
Alan Rickman as Antoine Richis;
Dustin Hoffman as Giuseppe Baldini;
Francesc Albiol as Court Official;
Gonzalo Cunill as Guard 1 Dungeon;
Roger Salvany as Guard 2 Dungeon;
Andres Herrera as Door Guard;
Simon Chandler as Mayor of Grasse;
David Calder as Bishop of Grasse;
Richard Felix as Chief Magistrate;
Birgit Minichmayr as Grenouille's Mother;
Reg Wilson as Customer - Fishmarket;
Catherine Boisgontier as Woman - Fishmarket;
Nuria Casas as Woman 2 - Fishmarket;
Carlos Gramaje as Police Lieutenant - Fishmarket;
Sian Thomas as Madame Gaillard;
Michael Smiley as Porter