Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw), born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Writers:

Andrew Birkin (screenplay), Bernd Eichinger (screenplay)

Stars:

Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman

15 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Whishaw	...	Jean-Baptiste Grenouille
Francesc Albiol	...	Court Official
Gonzalo Cunill	...	Guard 1 Dungeon
Roger Salvany	...	Guard 2 Dungeon
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
Núria Casas	...	Woman 2 Fishmarket
Carlos Gramaje	...	Police Lieutenant Fishmarket
Sian Thomas	...	Madame Gaillard
Michael Smiley	...	Porter

Storyline

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) came into the world unwanted, expected to die, yet born with an unnerving sense of smell that created alienation, as well as talent. Of all of the smells around him, Grenouille is beckoned to the scent of a woman's soul, and spends the rest of his life attempting to smell her essence again by becoming a perfumer, and creating the essence of an innocence lost.

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Plot Keywords:

18th century | smell | scent | perfume | sense of smell | 

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Taglines:

Based on the best-selling novel

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for aberrant behavior involving nudity, violence, sexuality, and disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [France] Official site [Russia]

Country:

Germany France Spain USA Czech Republic Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Latvia UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,079, 31 December 2006

Gross USA:

$2,223,293

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$135,039,924

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constantin Film, VIP 4 Medienfonds, Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Héloïse Adam auditioned for the part of Madame Arnulfi.

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Goofs

At one of the very first scenes of Jean-Baptiste execution, right before crowd starts fighting for the best place to see it, an antenna can be seen next to the balcony where the authorities and Laura's father are standing. It is easily identifiable as the peak of Calatrava Telecommunications Tower at Montuich mountain at Barcelona, which is quite near the building where the scene was shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Court Official: Quick. We can't hold them back much longer. Hurry. Come on!

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Connections

Featured in Parfum: Herzakkord (2018)

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Soundtracks

Tarentelle
(Traditional)
Performed by Saboï and its Members
Asta Coulomb, Christian Coulomb, Sebastien Coulomb, François Hecquet, Bertrand Mercier, Nicolas Pillard,
Edo Pols, Jocelyn Raulet, Simon Staelens, Remi Tran-No
By arrangement: Christian Coulomb

User Reviews

Great movie, very good attempt to describe the book without being violent.

I don't understand people who say this movie is dull, boring or bad. I guess these people are only into mindless action-movies with simple dialog where people get slaughtered in a brutal and visually gory way. If you have a mind and you are able to think, this movie maybe something for you. The characters in the movie are strong, you sympathize with them easily. It is upsetting why the main character is killing the girls, as it is actually unnecessary. The sceneries and costumes look great. I felt like I was there. The movie shows moderate violence, which is all just suggestive, you don't see any blood. I give this movie 8 points. It is a good movie, which I'd recommend to my friends.