Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, (2006)

based on a novel by Patrick Süskind. This is the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a cartoonish figure, and 18th century superman. His story is narrated by John Hurt. Dustin Hoffman is one of the perfumiers who endeavour to teach Jean his trade, which proves impossible, of course, because that is where his superpowers lie. He cannot fly, like Superman, but he can discern any scent and, with training in the perfumery trade, replicate it. His quest, however, takes him away from such mundane fare. The ultimate scent, he finds, is ‘the scent of a woman.’ And if that mean murdering them to distil their essence, then so be it. His aim is to create the ultimate soul of being in a scent. For this he harvests different types of women and thus creates a rein of terror in the merchant town of Grass that relies on the perfume trade.

We know from the first scene that he had been found guilty, by the judgement of the aristocracy, but also by a heavily baying mob. Not only is given the death sentence, but to widespread acclaim he is to be tortured on a cross before he dies, with his arms and legs broken first. The assembled crowd greets this proclamation like a winning goal. The narrative starts and in a sense finished at this point.

In between he assembled the perfume notes of various women and lays down the track of their soul scent. But it is clear that he needs the pure scent of the virginal Laure to create an elixir of life in death. She is the keystone. But Jean is caught, but only after distilling her essence and mixing it with the others.

Something curious happens when he is placed on the gallows to, putatively, be tortured to death. He is not longer dressed as a common worker, for one thing, but like a 20th Century dandy. The reason for this becomes clear. The essence he has created is pure love. He waves a hanky of it in the air and the crowd begin to lose all their senses and copulate. Bishop with commoner. Aristocrats with peasants. Men with women. Women with other women, but, of course, not men with men. The perfume is not that powerful. One whiff of Jean’s perfume and he the scent giver is viewed as a life giving angel.

He returns to Paris, to the place, where he was born a fish market, and douses himself in the scent he had created. The crowd rips him to shreds, wanting a part of him. For the sake of realism I can confirm that the worst smell I’ve ever encountered was not sewerage, but the bin used for the scraps of fish in a fish factory. Not even Jean could put a smile on my face there.