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Patrick Suskind’s 1985 novel Perfume was long considered unfilmable, yet director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) has managed to make the unfilmable not only filmable, but unique and enveloping.  Pulsing with colors rich and dank and sounds that seep into your brain, Perfume is a multi-sensory experience. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (played as an adult by effete by the otherworldly Ben Whishaw) is born in a disgusting fish market in 18th century Paris. His mother births him while selling and chopping fish. Like the other babies she’s hatched, she tries to kill Jean- Baptiste, but instead she’s arrested and hanged. As John Hurt’s voiceover informs us, since his first moments on earth were in a smelly, putrid fish market, Jean-Baptiste came out with an uncanny sense of smell. He developed his olfactory prowess by sniffing leaves and other unsniffable items at an orphanage, then finally a tannery.

Eventually, Jean-Baptiste winds up in the tutelage of Baldini (a silly, miscast Dustin Hoffman), a veteran perfumer amazed by Jean-Baptiste’s abilities and hell-bent on teaching him the perfumer’s art, which includes distilling real items into fragrances. Jean-Baptiste who, let’s just say, wasn’t properly socialized, initially tries to create his own fragrance by distilling a cat, much to Baldini’s (and the cat’s) horror. But that was just a warm-up. As any young man must, Jean-Baptiste discovers that the most intoxicating scent on earth is that of a woman. And since he experiences his world through smell, he embarks on trying to create the scent of love itself, by killing women and distilling their odor into what can only be considered the ultimate perfume, a potion that is literally liquid love.

Many directors fawned over Suskind’s original novel and the mind reels at the results had Stanley Kubrick, for instance, taken a crack at it. But Suskind, and us, should be very happy with the incredibly talented Tykwer, who is fast becoming one of the world’s best, or at least most interesting, directors. Starting with the horrifying fish market and ending with the opulence of the town where Jean-Baptiste discovers Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood), the final ingredient of his ultimate creation, Tykwer transports us into 18th century Paris.

As Jean-Baptiste, Whishaw is a quite a find. Even as an adult, he’s like a child who only wants, and cares not how he gets it. As he begins his killing spree, the movie shifts into thriller mode, which adds heavier doses of plot that what came before. Ironically, the more the movie relies on the engine of its plot, the more it loosens its grip on the audience. Still, fans of the book will be thrilled to see its climatic moment rendered onscreen as uncompromised as humanly possible. It’s a doozey of a sequence that probably worked better in the book.

Tykwer has been accused of being too respectful of his source material, a criticism that culminates here, as Jean-Baptiste unleashes his masterpiece to crowd screaming for his head. I’ll admit to liking this penultimate section more in theory than in practice. If Jean-Baptiste is a Love Messiah, they should be worshipping him, not blinded by the rapture his scents have made possible. But it is to quibble. Perfume is a difficult, seductive experience that tries to capture the ephemeral qualities of attraction and desire.  One can argue that the film never makes the profound statement it seems to want to make, but that shouldn’t stop you from renting it. It’s a unique and full-bodied movie experience.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect of 2.35:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Hands down, this is a pretty great picture. Blacks are deep and confident and shadow detail is excellent. In some wide shots, there’s a hint of grain on difficult objects like castle walls. But really, the blacks are so good they add to your enjoyment of watching the film. Dynamic range is excellent, and its quality is viewable in the many nighttime exteriors, where inky blackness and the off-white of people’s eyes share the screen. The movie gets more colorful as it goes along, but all the colors are rich and evocative. The film opens with desaturated colors and grey-greens that look almost three-dimensional. Then, as more scenes take place in greener pastures and within opulent castle walls, the film is equally good…almost. I was surprised that some of the flesh tones in the later scenes look a little processed, and sharpness, which was spot-on for 90 minutes, is off just the tiniest bit.  Small object detail and finely grained textures are amazing. There are lots of extreme close-ups of vials and such and they’re a joy to watch. In all, this is a sumptuous transfer, without a print flaw in sight. This is the rare transfer where the nighttime scenes outshine the daytime scenes.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

There are English 5.1 and English 2.0 mixes on the disc. The 5.1 is, not surprisingly, the way to go. Considering the movie is fairly subdued, a disquieting little mood is created, using subtlety and carefully placed effects. Dialogue is deep and understandable, with no edginess. Door slams and other effects coming in from the sides are nice integrated into the track and don’t feel overly isolated in the corners of the soundscape. Bass is so deep that when fully deployed, it’ll pretty impressive. In the scene when Jean-Baptiste is born, as the baby is absorbing the disgusting smells that will soon take over his life, the pulsing bass burrows into your brain. Tykwer co-wrote the score, one of the best scores of 2006, and it sounds rich and clean with full and satisfying strings and percussion. The climactic scene includes voices that come from all over the place, really heightening the penultimate moments of the film. Not an amazing track, but very appropriate and professionally rendered.

There are English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Paramount went light on the extras. Hopefully, they’ll be a Special Edition in high definition and with more supplements. For now we get some trailers and a Making-Of featurette. The latter is about 14-minutes long and it’s pretty standard. Director Tom Tykwer begins by mentioning how everyone thought the novel was unfilmable. He, of course, being a very visual director, thought the novel was very, very filmable. Star Ben Whishaw weighs in about working with Dustin Hoffman, and Hoffman weighs in about the importance of make-up and wardrobe in helping him find his character. Alan Rickman and Rachel Hurd-Wood (who plays Laura) are also interviewed, as are the two screenwriters and various craftsmen. Add a generous dose of behind the scenes footage and you have a standard Making-Of featurette. Oh, and one more thing: the audio during the interviews is a little muddy, which is annoying.