Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a 2006 thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer and written by Andrew Birkin, Bernd Eichinger and Tykwer. It is based on the 1985 novel Perfume by Patrick Süskind. Set in 18th century France, the film tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw), an olfactory genius, and his homicidal quest for the perfect scent. The film also stars Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman and Rachel Hurd-Wood; John Hurt provides narration.
The film was made on a budget of €50 million, making it one of the most expensive German films. Principal photography began on July 12, 2005 and concluded on October 16, 2005; filming took place in Spain, Germany and France.
Perfume was released on September 14, 2006 in Germany. It
grossed $135,039,943 worldwide, of which $53,125,663 was made in
Germany. Critics' reviews of the film were mixed; the consensus was that
the film had strong cinematography and acting but suffered from an
uneven screenplay.
Plot
The film begins with the sentencing of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw), a notorious murderer. Between the reading of the sentence and the execution, the story of his life is told in flashback,
beginning with his abandonment at birth in a French fish market. Raised
in an orphanage, Grenouille grows into a strangely detached boy with a
superhuman sense of smell. After growing to maturity as a tanner's apprentice, he makes his first delivery to Paris, where he revels in the new odors. He focuses on a redheaded girl selling plums (Karoline Herfurth),
following her and repeatedly attempting to sniff her, startling her
with his behavior. To prevent her from crying out, he covers the girl's
mouth and unintentionally suffocates her. After realizing that she is
dead, he strips her body naked and smells her all over, becoming
distraught when her scent fades. Afterwards, Grenouille is haunted by
the desire to recreate the girl's aroma.
After making a delivery to a perfume shop, Grenouille amazes the Italian owner, Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman),
with his ability to identify and to create fragrances. He revitalizes
the perfumer's career with new formulas, demanding only that Baldini
teach him how to preserve scents. Baldini explains that all perfumes are
harmonies of twelve individual scents, and may contain a theoretical
thirteenth scent. He also tells a story about a perfume discovered in an
Egyptian tomb that was so perfect that it caused everyone in the entire
world to briefly believe they were in paradise the moment the bottle
was opened. When Grenouille discovers that Baldini's method of distillation
will not capture the scents of all objects, such as iron chains and
dead animals, he becomes depressed. After receiving a letter of
presentation written by Baldini, Grenouille leaves to learn a different
method in Grasse. En route to Grasse, Grenouille realises that he has no body odor, and is therefore a cipher. He decides that creating the perfect perfume will prove his worth.
Upon arrival in Grasse, Grenouille catches the scent of Laura Richis (Rachel Hurd-Wood), the beautiful, redheaded daughter of the wealthy Antoine Richis (Alan Rickman)
and decides that she will be his "thirteenth scent", the linchpin of
his perfume. Grenouille finds a job in Grasse under Madame Arnulfi (Corinna Harfouch) and Dominique Druot (Paul Berrondo) and learns the method of enfleurage.
He kills a young lavender picker and attempts to extract her scent
using the method of hot enfleurage, which fails. After this, he attempts
the method of cold enfleurage on a prostitute he hired, but she becomes
alarmed and tries to throw him out. He murders her and successfully
preserves the scent of the woman thanks to the animal fat. Grenouille
embarks on a killing spree, targeting beautiful young girls and
capturing their scents using his perfected method. He dumps the women's
naked corpses around the city, creating panic. After preserving the
first twelve scents, Grenouille plans his attack on Laura. During a
church sermon excommunicating
him it is announced that an innocent man has confessed to the murders
under torture. Richis remains unconvinced and flees the city with his
daughter, planning to marry her as soon as possible. Grenouille tracks
her scent to a roadside inn and sneaks into her room that night,
appearing to hesitate as she stirs. However the next morning, Richis
discovers Laura lying dead in her bed.
Soldiers capture Grenouille moments after he finishes preparing his
perfume. On the day of his execution, he applies a drop of the perfume
to himself, forcing the jailers to release him and give him their
clothes. The executioner and the crowd in attendance are speechless at
the beauty of the perfume; they declare Grenouille innocent before
falling into a massive orgy.
Richis, still convinced of Grenouille's guilt, threatens him with his
sword, before being overwhelmed by the scent and embracing Grenouille as
his "son". Eventually, the town awakens and decides that the godly
Grenouille could not have been the murderer. Druot is convicted for the
murders and hanged, since it was his backyard where the clothes and hair
of the victims were found.
Walking out of Grasse unscathed, Grenouille has enough perfume to
rule the world, but has discovered that it will not allow him to love or
be loved like a normal person. Disenchanted by his aimless quest and
tired of his life, he returns to Paris. Back in the city, Grenouille
returns to the fish market where he was born and pours the remaining
perfume over his head. Overcome by the scent and in the belief that
Grenouille is an angel, the nearby crowd devours him. The next day, all that is left are his clothes and the empty bottle, from which one final drop of perfume falls.
Cast
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parfume_story_of_a_murderer
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