DER PARFUMEUR/ THE PERFUMIER

Germany, 2022, 96 minutes, Colour.

Emilia Schuler, Ludwig Simon, Robert Finster, August Diehl.

Directed by Nils Willbrandt.

Perfume was a celebrated 1985 novel by Patrick Susskind. It was filmed in 2006 by Tom Tykwer with Ben Whishaw and Dustin Hoffman, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. In 2018 two has a six part German miniseries, Perfume.

This film is comparatively brief, has a contemporary setting, derives its plot from Patrick Susskind’s novel, and the theme of relating perfumes and scents to emotions.

The film is basically a police investigation story, the focus on policewoman, Sunny, who has lost her sense of smell. She is fascinated by her investigation of Dorian, an eccentric young man who has been experimenting with various scents, while having discovered one which is associated with sexuality and sensuality, is determined to find a scent associated with the emotion of love. In his experiments, he has abducted several women, aided by an eccentric friend from childhood, Rex, and disposed of their bodies.

There is a complication in Sunny’s life and her relationship with married fellow police officer, Juro.

Sunny pursues Dorian and allows herself to be abducted by him to participate in his experiments. This clashes with her police work, collaboration with the dual role, coming to the attention of her superior.

She wants Dorian to educate her so that she can recover her sense of smell – which, in his way, he does. However, she continues to pursue him.

1. The title, the focus on the sense of smell, the creation of perfumes, ideal perfumes, unscrupulous means to an end?
2. The relationship to the original novel, Tom Tykwer’s film version with Ben Whishaw and Dustin Hoffman? From the 19^th century to the 21^st-century?
3. An imaginative riff on the original novel and film? The narrow focus, on Dorian, on Sunny?
4. Contemporary German setting, police work, police precincts, homes and relationships, the focus on Rex and her strange world, on Dorian and his laboratory? The musical score?
5. Sunny’s story, her age, experience, her police work, dedication, collaboration with Juro? The relationship with him, his wife and children, her compulsion towards him? Her loss of the sense of smell when she was young, the effect on her? The investigation of Dorian, Rex, their work, the perfumes? The raids, her taking the vial of perfume, the sexual attraction perfume, her using it, the effect on Juro, his behaviour, together, getting the house, setting it up?
6. The film giving the background of Rex, her personality, her helping of Dorian in the past, their working together, her being captured, prison, using the perfume on the guard, her escape, reuniting with Dorian, their collaboration? The confrontation with Sunny?
7. Dorian, his age, his experiments, his talent, the bizarre experiments, the women, the extraction of the scents, the women victims, Rex and her picking up the young woman, the disposal of her body? The police investigation? Rex and her skill with piercing skin?
8. Dorian, personality, reclusive, the past, his father, his ideal of getting a scent for love rather than just sexuality?
9. Dorian and Sunny pursuing him, together, his saying she was his pearl, inspiration? Her own hopes and desires? Her asking him to educate her in being able to smell again, his various means, memories of her childhood, resuscitating them, his growing desperation, getting rid of her?
10. Sunny, the return of the sense of smell, the effect on her, with Juro? The visit of his wife and children, her decision to let him go?
11. Dorian, wandering, the ambition, getting in touch with the expert, their meeting, discussions, the expert and his taunting? Leaving Dorian?