Perfume – The Story of a Murderer
The scent of death
I have had the opportunity to comment on many films based on books, some with success, others not so much. The problem is, when the book is exceptional, the expectations for the film are very high, which is why many disappointments occur. Perhaps this is why the book “The perfume”, by the German writer Patrick Süskind, first published in 1985, took two decades to reach the screens. Luckily for us, “Perfume – The Story of a Murderer” (USA / GER, 2006) was worth the wait.
The paradigm “the book was better” is a constant, when trying to make some literary adaptation for the cinema. Dissatisfaction is understandable because, in addition to being different languages, audiences are also different. But, if there is a complaint in this case, it will be due to the fidelity to the text, although a lot had to be left aside.
The main character is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Wishaw), born in a fish market in Paris, in 1738. His birth is already a commotion, since his mother abandon him on the ground to die. When the fact is discovered, she is arrested and later executed, while the child is delivered to an orphanage.
The young man, at birth, has two characteristics that would make him unique. In addition to not giving off any odor, he had an extremely keen sense of smell, able to perceive and recognize people only by smell. As he could not distinguish what was a pleasant smell from a bad one – for him, every odor was a different one – it was no problem to work in a tannery, where the foul odors made everyone sick. Introverted and focused on his own universe, the boy’s only diversion was to stroll the streets of Paris, knowing and identifying new aromas.
In these wanderings, he meets Baldini (Dustin Hoffman), a well-known perfumer, who hid his incompetence by spreading slander on his competitors. When the boy easily reproduces the perfume of another perfumer, Baldini realizes that he has a treasure in his hands, hiring him immediately.
Regardless of money, Grenouille adapts easily to his new situation, having the opportunity to learn different ways of making oils, essences and fragrances. Gradually, his unique and secret ambition takes shape, to create a perfume that reproduces the scent of a young woman.
In his fledgling attempts, he tries to distill a cat. Before, he had involuntarily killed a woman when he tried to keep her quiet and discovered the intoxicating smells on her body.
Leaving Baldini, Grenouille decides to move to the city of Grasse, the world capital of perfumes, where he has a mystical experience when realizing that his body does not have a specific smell. From there, the sequence of deaths of women, necessary for the creation of her great work, begins. As the crimes happen, panic spreads throughout the city.
As people move, flee, or lock themselves up to protect their daughters, Grenouille tries to create his final perfume, a combination of scents taken from the women he chases and kills. For the final touch, he needs an ultimate victim, the beautiful and pure Laure Richis (Rachel Hurd-Wood).
Patrick Süskind’s book has achieved tremendous success worldwide, selling up to 15 million copies in more than forty languages. To get an idea, even rocker Kurt Cobain, a fan of Süskind, composed the song “Scentless Appretince”, from the album “In Utero”, based on that book.
For years, several filmmakers, such as Tim Burton, Martin Scorsese and Milos Forman were interested in bringing the book to the screen. Stanley Kubrick also considered the project, until he concluded that the book was “in-filmable”. In 2001 alone, producer Bernd Eichinger managed to convince Süskind, paying 10 million euros for the rights to cinema.
The budget for “Perfume – The Story of a Murderer” was US$ 65.8 million. It was the most expensive movie ever made in Germany so far. Much of this money was spent in the careful setting of the 18th century, both scenery and costumes. The cast, formed mostly by English actors, is the great support of the film, thanks to the safe direction of Tom Tykwer. For those who doubt his competence, can see “Run, Lola, Run” (“Lola rennt ”, ALE, 1998), the amazing clip-movie starring Franka Potente.
Recently, Netflix launched the mini-series “Perfume” (“Parfum”, ALE, 2018), where a sequence of murders takes place with the mutilation of bodies, and everyone involved has something to do with the book written by Süskind.