- Jun 10, 2005
- 2,923
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Hello ATOT. I've never written a movie review on this site or any other. But after watching this movie I feel compelled to do so now.
I remember seeing the trailer for "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" in theaters last year. It looked fairly interesting, but not enough to shoot it up to my "MUST SEE" list. As the reviews came out my interest waned completely as they were scathing. Rotten tomatoes stamped their "rotten" tag on it due to a paltry 41% fresh rating from the cream of the crop reviews.
What a mistake I made by not seeing this movie in the theater.
I was completely blown away by this film. Granted, I wasn't expecting much on a weeknight rental out of boredom, but it ended up being one of my favorite movies of all time. I haven't finished watching a movie and feeling as satisfied since walking out of Braveheart when it first was in the theaters. This film is deep, dark, moving, thought provoking, and absolutely beautiful.
It tells us the story of Jean Baptiste Grenouille, a man born in a fish market, the foulest place in the foulest city in the world in the mid 18th century-Paris, France. Overcrowded and filthy, Paris was the most populated town in the world at the time and Grenouille's mother worked gutting fish while pregnant. While chopping off the heads of cod one morning, she gave birth to Jean Baptiste in the middle of the fish market and continued to work, leaving him for dead on the floor, atop fish guts. Jean Baptiste's cries alarmed the people in the fish market to the baby's arrival, and quickly apprehended the "murderer" mother for leaving the baby to die and she was killed for her abandonment, leaving Grenouille an orphan.
As he grows, he finds that he has a superhuman sense of smell. He can identify everything by its smell-rocks, copper, even the maggots inside a rotting rat. This nose becomes his only interaction with the world. The title of the movie gives away what Grenouille becomes, but I don't want to ruin any of the plot for you.
This story is not one of realism or a period piece to examine what life was really like at the time. This is a fairy tale. Yes, it is a very very dark fairy tale, but a fairy tale none the less. There are many layers of story and meaning that are woven together and each is deserving of thought in their own rights.
The cinematography is nothing less than incredible. The costumes, perfect. The music was exactly right for the movie.
The acting is superb.
I implore those of you that enjoy film to watch this dark and hauntingly beautiful film. Just don't go in expecting a horror movie or a thriller...this is a unique experience and demands a lot of the viewer-imagination, an open mind, attentiveness-but gives so much in return.
Very Highly Recommended in every way.
I remember seeing the trailer for "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" in theaters last year. It looked fairly interesting, but not enough to shoot it up to my "MUST SEE" list. As the reviews came out my interest waned completely as they were scathing. Rotten tomatoes stamped their "rotten" tag on it due to a paltry 41% fresh rating from the cream of the crop reviews.
What a mistake I made by not seeing this movie in the theater.
I was completely blown away by this film. Granted, I wasn't expecting much on a weeknight rental out of boredom, but it ended up being one of my favorite movies of all time. I haven't finished watching a movie and feeling as satisfied since walking out of Braveheart when it first was in the theaters. This film is deep, dark, moving, thought provoking, and absolutely beautiful.
It tells us the story of Jean Baptiste Grenouille, a man born in a fish market, the foulest place in the foulest city in the world in the mid 18th century-Paris, France. Overcrowded and filthy, Paris was the most populated town in the world at the time and Grenouille's mother worked gutting fish while pregnant. While chopping off the heads of cod one morning, she gave birth to Jean Baptiste in the middle of the fish market and continued to work, leaving him for dead on the floor, atop fish guts. Jean Baptiste's cries alarmed the people in the fish market to the baby's arrival, and quickly apprehended the "murderer" mother for leaving the baby to die and she was killed for her abandonment, leaving Grenouille an orphan.
As he grows, he finds that he has a superhuman sense of smell. He can identify everything by its smell-rocks, copper, even the maggots inside a rotting rat. This nose becomes his only interaction with the world. The title of the movie gives away what Grenouille becomes, but I don't want to ruin any of the plot for you.
This story is not one of realism or a period piece to examine what life was really like at the time. This is a fairy tale. Yes, it is a very very dark fairy tale, but a fairy tale none the less. There are many layers of story and meaning that are woven together and each is deserving of thought in their own rights.
The cinematography is nothing less than incredible. The costumes, perfect. The music was exactly right for the movie.
The acting is superb.
I implore those of you that enjoy film to watch this dark and hauntingly beautiful film. Just don't go in expecting a horror movie or a thriller...this is a unique experience and demands a lot of the viewer-imagination, an open mind, attentiveness-but gives so much in return.
Very Highly Recommended in every way.
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