Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Perfume: the Story of a Murderer directed by Tom Tykwer. 

 I really don't know where to begin with this movie. A friend of mine recommended it to me a few years ago and I finally found it on Amazon Prime so I gave it a watch. 

This is a very odd film, but also one of the most original movies I've seen in a long time. It was 2 and half hour long, but didn't for a second feel that length of time.  The pace, as well as the oddness, of it kept everything moving along at a good health pace. 

But all of that said this is a movie about a serial killer and perfume. Yes, I know it sounds odd and that there is no way it could be good, but I'm telling you it all works together in the movie everything works with the story line nothing hinders or bogs the story down. It's directed by a guy named Tom Tykwer who directed a movie called Run Lola, Run. From that movie I would have never guessed a movie this good would come from him and be as strikingly different in tone and direction than Run, Lola, Run (take note Tarentino, the Warchowsky brothers/sisters?). 

This movie's production alone is worth watching the movie for. The sets of a past France are striking and the dirtiness of the lower class is vividly done. Tykwer's use of color, dark and drab for the city, while the country scenes use every color from a painter's palate to bring the country alive, is exactly how to use color in a movie. His use of jump cuts and quick editing only enhances the story line rather that bog it down with needless and pointless non-directing. These types of cuts and editing are only used when emphasizing the sense of smell to the main character so the quick cuts and editing show everything main character smells at that moment, which as one can imagine would be a barrage of sensory input.

It's hard to believe this movie came from the barren waste of Hollywood, because it doesn't seem like anything original comes from there anymore but this movie is one of the most original movies I've seen in a long time. It's also amazing how a movie can convey the sense of smell through a purely visual medium.  There were countless times I wanted to smell what the main character was smelling, because from a visual stand point it looked so very a pealing that I got a visual taste of what he was smelling, that is a good director. The ending is faithful as well as a head scratcher of an ending that will leave you thinking about the movie and the deeper meaning there in. It's one of the few movies that I applaud this kind of an ending, because honestly there wasn't too many places for as good of a resolution as this movie gives.