Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Tom Tykwer, 2006)

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Tom Tykwer, 2006)
Rating: 6.7

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a whimsical, yet surrealistic and dark fairytale with narration provided by John Hurt who might be remembered for his expert narration abilities from Lars von Trier's Dogville and Manderlay. Director Tom Tykwer reminds us that he is one of the finest visual auteurs working in cinema today as he provides provacative eye candy and an excitingly kinetic style. The story is imaginative and was adapted from the best-selling novel by Patrick Süskind as it follows the life of a young man with superhuman olfactory senses who become obsessed with capturing the world's most beautiful scents. I remained somewhat enthralled with the narrative until the ending which was truly one of the most absurd and downright incoherent things I've ever witnessed. However it is unforgettable and technically impressive, as I'd venture to guess we see the largest mass orgy ever recorded to celluloid which prompted me to recall the great crane shot from Gone With the Wind with the mass of wounded soldiers scattered across the ground. The other thing that bothered me in this film was Dustin Hoffman's pathetic Italian accent. I'm a Hoffman fan, and he was a good addition to the cast, simply to provide a name for box office draw if nothing else, but for future reference I hope he avoids period pieces and foreign roles. Being a fan of Tykwer, I don't want to place the blame on him for my complaints with the films conclusion as he stays loyal the novel and it really seems like a minor quibble as I think the technical and artistic merits of the film outweigh the cons. It's just too bad I couldn't have viewed this with Smell-O-Vision.