Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, 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 & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Whishaw	...	Jean-Baptiste Grenouille
Francesc Albiol	...	Court Official
Gonzalo Cunill	...	Guard 1 Dungeon
Rachel Hurd-Wood	...	Laura
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 body, 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:

Enter an intoxicating world of passion, obsession and murder

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production team scouted eight different countries in Europe looking for the best place to represent eighteenth century Paris, before settling on Barcelona, Spain.

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Goofs

While Grenouille is hanging heads down above the water filled barrel his hair changes from dripping wet to dry to dripping wet.

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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

Referenced in MovieBerto: El perfume: Historia de un asesino (2015)

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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

A world of its own

In this colourful and gripping film, you can literally "smell" the pictures. Sometimes they are captivating, sometimes awful, but they are always fascinating. A great, great movie about sensuality, desire, greed... and the quest for love. Wonderful cast (even Hoffman is excellent!), wonderful music (and the score is not "too" present, which is a good thing), wonderful direction. 2 and a half hours may seem a long time for some, but not for the real sensualists. The story and the film may have their flaws, but they also have outstanding qualities and in a perfect world Tom Tykwer should receive an award for his superb adaptation of the splendid book by Patrick Süsskind.

A must see. Or, should I say, a must "smell"!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Russia]

Country:

Germany France Spain USA Belgium

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Filming Locations:

France

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:

DreamWorks, Constantin Film, Bernd Eichinger Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1