Perfume (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #80

For me every actor has a signature role. That's one role that defines him, and it's the role that people think of whenever his name is mentioned. If there's an actor who doesn't have a signature role, it's either because I don't know enough of his films or because he hasn't yet made the film with his signature role. To give a few examples:

Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature role is the Terminator.

Bela Lugosi's signature role is Dracula.

Tom Hanks' signature role is Forrest Gump.

Nicolas Cage's signature role is Seth in "City of Angels".

Bruno Ganz's signature role is Adolf Hitler.

Keanu Reeves' signature role is John Wick. This is an interesting one, because I used to think his signature role was Neo in the Matrix films, but I've changed my mind. John Wick expresses more accurately who he is.

Beverly Lynne's signature role is Tanya X.

And Ben Whishaw's signature role is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in "Perfume". I don't care how many times he plays Q in the James Bond films, he'll always be the brooding serial killer Jean-Baptiste.

I can't write about this film without mentioning Karoline Herfurth, the stunningly beautiful actress who plays the plum seller. It was intended to cast an English or American actress for the role, but after a long fruitless search Karoline was picked, a German actress who had already worked with the director Tom Tykwer.

The film has epic proportions, despite its seemingly banal plot: it's about one man's quest to create the perfect perfume. 5,200 extras were used in the film, and the final orgy scene holds the record for the largest orgy on film, with 750 extras taking part. According to the director's commentary, they had to rehearse a whole week eight hours a day in order to feel comfortable with being naked.

These are just a few of the participants. It wasn't an easy scene to film, because the extras were all packed together in a cramped space. Amusingly, Tom Tykwer says that after making the film a large number of the naked extras still meet on a regular basis to reminisce about the film. Rolling naked in a courtyard with 750 other people must be a unique bonding experience.

Karoline Herfurth also appears naked briefly, though not in the orgy scene. She was already dead, Jean-Baptiste's first victim.

So many naked bodies, and yet Alan Rickman has to keep his clothes on. I bet he wishes he could have been one of the extras.

This is a magnificent film. It doesn't neatly fit any genre. It's a masterpiece.

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