Having read the novel 'Perfume' written by Patrick Suskind and loving it I was unsure whether anyone could translate this fantastic story from book to film successfully but it turned out that director Tom Tykwer and producer Bernd Eichinger managed this with the greatest of ease.
SYPNOSIS
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) is a young man born in the quite disgusting reek and filth of eighteenth century Paris. Born to a market trader who knows she has no chance of caring for a son he is left to fend for himself from his very first breath. Born under her market stall and left to die beside the rotten fish heads and rats somehow Jean-Baptiste Grenouille survives this ordeal but for her crime his mother is hanged leaving him to spend his life in care, although the way he is dragged up could not really be classed as care.
Despite everything that is thrown at this young man during his life he still manages to get through life mostly with a smile on his face and enjoying his one true passion (perfume) he has an amazing sense of smell being able to pick out a single scent from a dirty filthy market place or being able to seek out a single flower from an open field an ability which will turn out to map the path of his life for him.
In the centre of Paris is a perfumery which is owned by one of the most famous perfumers Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin
Hoffman) Baldini was a man quickly being forgotten, having once been the most celebrated perfumer in Paris and having being responsible for making perfumes for the rich and famous of the time his business was now failing him fast because he had lost his ability to seek out new and beautiful scents.
When the young Jean-Baptiste Grenouille appears in his shop Asking Baldini for work and trying to assure Baldini that he has a special talent for smells Baldini has no time for a young kid to be bothering him and banishes Grenouille from his shop, that is until Grenouille tells him that he can sniff out every scent that goes into the latest perfume that is taking Paris by storm and begins to re-create it right in front of his eyes.
Baldini gives Grenouille the job he is looking for and Grenouille immediately gets his shop back on track but as well as creating new and great perfumes for Baldini to sell in his store Grenouille has a secret perfume in the making, there is one scent which stands out, one that he cannot bottle but wishes dearly that he could, the scent of a virginal young female and before realising that in order to intends to make a perfume based on this exact scent.
Using his talents that he has learned from Baldini on how to extract scents from rose petals and other things Grenouille sets about extracting the scent of beautiful young virginal women to create his master piece. He attempts to do this in a few ways but they all have something in common they leave the women seriously injured or dead. Because of his terrible upbringing Grenouille finds it difficult to understand that he is doing anything wrong and continues trying to perfect his masterpiece perfume.
As the body count rises and sheer terror sweeps through everyone in the surrounding area Grenouille`s time is running out, will he create this perfume he so desires and if so how many will have to die?
THE MAIN CAST
Ben Whishaw ... Jean-Baptiste Grenouille
Francesc Albiol ... Court Official
Andrés Herrera ... Door Guard
Simon Chandler ... Mayor of Grasse
David Calder ... Bishop of Grasse
Richard Felix ... Chief Magistrate
Birgit Minichmayr ... Grenouille's Mother
Reg Wilson ... Customer - Fishmarket
Catherine Boisgontier ... Woman - Fishmarket
Carlos Gramaje ... Police Lieutenant - Fishmarket
Sian Thomas ... Madame Gaillard
Perry Millward ... Marcel
Jan Cortés ... Boy - Boarding House
Berta Ros ... Girl - Boarding House
Alvaro Roque ... Grenouille - 5 Years
Franck Lefeuvre ... Grenouille - 12 Years
Bridget McConnell ... Aunt
Duna Jové ... Young Woman
Timothy Davies ... Chenier
Dustin Hoffman ... Giuseppe Baldini Dora Romano
MY PERSONAL OPINION
This movie not only brought the book to life right in front of my eyes it actually improved my enjoyment of the story which is very rare for a film to do over a book. This happened purely and simply because of the excellent acting throughout. Both Ben Wishaw and Dustin Hoffman were outstanding and the rest of the cast kept up very well. The scenery involved both the re-creation of ancient Paris and the moments when Grenouille was seen to be travelling also helped bring the story to life. You can almost smell the dusky putrid smell of Paris disappear and the fresh countryside air appear as Grenouille leaves Paris to travel. Form beginning to end this film had me captured with its brilliant costumes, fantastic scenery and outstanding acting and then when it get to its somewhat surprising end I was left with nothing but sheer admiration for what I had just watched.
THE DVD
Certificate - 15
Runtime - 147 min
Audio - Dolby Digital 5.1
Video - 16.9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
EXTRAS
The Making of Perfume documentary.
Location scouting featurette.
Scent Visualisation featurette.
Director of Photography featurette.
Mixing Stage featurette.
Behind the scenes photo gallery.
Theatrical trailer.
The extras on DVD`s are something I rarely bother with but because of my enjoyment of the movie I had a look at some of them. The making of the movie was particularly enjoyable for me. Seeing these actors become other people right in front of my eyes made me realise even further how well they had played their parts.
I also really enjoyed the Behind the Scenes photo gallery; once again it allowed you to see the make up and the changes that these actors and actresses had gone through to play these parts.
TO SUMMARISE
This movie is one that will capture the attention and the imagination of most audiences; it really does have something for everyone. I only wish I had taken time to see it on the big screen but I may still get the chance because we have a theatre near us that shows older movies from time to time. If this chance should fall to you then I suggest grabbing it if not at least make sure you give this movie a chance on DVD, you will not be disappointed!
Thanks for reading. 
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by (7%):
12.04.2008 13:10
Great review :o)
01.04.2008 13:06
Really good review! I had to read the book at school 9 years ago, but I never finished it because it was so boring. Maybe I should give the movie a try ^^
25.02.2008 21:01
Very good review