Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

In some scenes, Tykwer reaches the edge of perfection itself, but it fails to achieve a full set of stars due to a fairly large number of shortcomings. Primarily the middle part which could easily have been cut by about twenty minutes without doing any harm. This attempt at imparting a perfume just by means of a combination of visuals and music didn’t work completely, nor could it. Even so, in many scenes, when Tykwer tries hard, it is emotionally strong and stays in your memory for long after. I also liked the really bizarre closing third of the picture which could easily compete with some of the really big “weirdities" from Asia. I can’t say that Perfume is a great movie, but it is certainly unforgettable, and that means a lot. ♫ OST score: 5/5 (04/21/2022)

Perfume is a work of art, a parable and an allegory, masterfully wrapped up in a beautiful, spectacularly attractive mainstream package. It is an amazing sensualist film about everthing that a talented person can do and, mainly, create when driven by love. I don’t feel sorry for Grenouille’s single victim; I feel sorry for Grenouille. And I admire him. Tom Tykwer brings perfect balance to the collage of drama, thriller and comedy, the sets are amazing, and the actors – including Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman – fully embody their characters (and that’s not even to mention Ben Whishaw...) and some scenes (the maze, the climax) are exemplary demonstrations of film editing. Perfume reawakened in me a memory of the melancholic student days of Branagh’s Frankenstein. (01/26/2007)

This couldn't have been filmed better! Tom Tykwer took Süskind's seemingly unfilmable story and retold it. Like the author, with his colorful descriptions, the director also uses visual finesse to convey a subliminal sensation that the film medium deprives us of, and which leads the viewer's senses into a state of their own dubious confusion. With this film, there is no point in arguing about the strong implausibility of logic, etc. For the first time since Run Lola Run, Tykwer proves that brilliant craftsmanship can say (almost) everything. (03/11/2007)

Tom Tykwer is very inventive and has a head full of ideas, which he throws at the viewer with an unprecedented force, and he managed to adapt “Perfume” to the movie screen as well as possible. If we add great actors and the truly beautiful visuals, the occasional plot gaps and excessive running time can be forgiven. A truly unique story, a truly unique film. (05/25/2008)

If anyone should have adapted the book "Perfume", it was probably only Tykwer, because a book with such a reputation requires a director of his caliber. It's a slight mindfuck in places, but I think it sufficiently rehabilitates the good aspects of modern German culture. Ben Whishaw is properly disgusting, Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman ensured the general public's attention and Corinna Harfouch and Karoline Herfurth added their inimitable faces to the whole. (06/05/2017)