Based
on a 1985 novel "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind, director and co-writer
(with Andrew Birkin and Bernd Eichinger) Tom Tykwer has successfully created a
strange, erotic visual landscape of odors. I'm not going to spoil the story and
will only briefly summarize it. "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" begins
in 1738 in Paris with the tragic birth and childhood of Baptiste Grenouille (Ben
Whishaw). Deprived of any sensation but misery and the smells of poverty, Baptiste
develops the unusual ability to sense and identify every odor. Intoxicated with
the narcotic odors of all the scents of life but raised in an brutal orphanage,
Baptiste is uncommunicative. He's strange. He is the product of his tragic environment.
As
a laborer in a tannery, he delivers a package to Baldini (Dustin Hoffman), an
old perfumer whose business is failing. Realizing that Baldini has a warehouse
of exotic ingredients, Baptiste begs to be trained. Seeing that Baptiste does
possess a talent for mixing fragrances, Baldini teaches him about the craft of
creating perfumes. His business takes a surprising turn and begins to flourish
with Baptiste mixing oils and essences.
Following
a woman in the street, Baptiste tries to smell her and, when she screams out,
kills her. He undresses her and begins to smell her body. He becomes intoxicated
by her female odors.
Baldini
has told him that there is always a mysterious ingredient that is missing in a
perfume. This mystery element has been sought after for ages. Baptiste leaves
Paris for the perfume capital of Paris where he works for a perfumer preparing
the flowers. Baptiste sets about collecting scents from various women reducing
their essence to fragrances.
Seeing
the beautiful Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood), the daughter of prominent Antoine Richis
(Alan Rickman). Baptiste decides she is the last ingredient he needs to complete
his masterpiece. However, circumstances in the town make Antoine fear for Laura's
safety. Young women are being killed and they have one thing in common –
they are all beautiful virgins. Antoine takes Laura to a monastery on an island
in the Mediterranean. Baptiste, obsessed and without shoes, follows them. He gets
into the fortified monastery and finds Laura. He is soon captured and sentenced
to death by public execution.
I'm
going to be intentionally vague. What happens next should be a surprise. What
transpires is perverse, stunning, and pagan. Tykwer interprets mystical experience
as orgy. What it means – I have my own interpretation having to do with the
intoxication of purity – is best left to the viewer.
German
filmmaker Tykwer is known here for his innovative 1998 film "Run, Lola, Run"
that has inspired many other directors. You see its influence in many other films.
I have the soundtrack for "Run, Lola, Run" on my iPod. With ""Perfume:
The Story of a Murderer," Tykwer's production design brings to life the smells
and sights of 18th France with an expert's eye. This is a film that should be
experienced.
