Perfume: The Story of a Murderer 2006

Ang galing ng prosthetics sa kakalabas lang na baby sa umpisa. Ang ganda rin ng production design, lalo na yung marketplace. Naiimagine ko talaga yung putrid na amoy. Maganda rin ang color grading. Parang kulay ng Les Misérables na musical film. Hindi siya typical orange and teal. Mas leaning sa gold and blue green tones, muted and aged. Maganda rin ang use of shadows. Black kung black, walang takot sa dilim, which fits perfectly sa detached and obsessive nature ni Grenouille. Bagay na bagay sa era ng France, pati sa wardrobe. Visually, consistent yung buong film. Maganda ang pagkaka narrate ni John Hurt, nakaka engage talaga. He pulls you into the story without forcing emotion. Ang weirdo nung inaamoy niya yung katawan nung babaeng napatay niya. Parang animal, walang remorse. Pure instinct lang. Pati pusa dinistill. Wala talagang remorse or moral compass, scent lang ang mundo niya. Nakakatawa rin na parang may pattern. Kapag nag move on na si Grenouille sa former master niya, laging namamatay. Everyone in his life feels disposable, parang stepping stone lang toward his obsession. Ganda ng sunset mountain top shots ng landscape. Kita yung separation ng bawat horizon, very clean and cinematic. The CGI background extensions for some shots are also good. For a 2006 film, it still holds up after 20 years. Hindi eyesore yung CGI, used strategically and only when needed. May mga story beats lang talaga na medyo dragging for me, lalo na sa gitna. Then, nagdistill nanaman ng babae. Psycho talaga para lang makagawa ng skin scent. Imagine mo, your whole life spent just for a small batch of fragrance oil. This film starts off as a coming of age story, then becomes an ambition film, and eventually turns into a thriller. Kasabay ng paglaki ng obsession niya, nagshi shift din yung genre ng pelikula. Alan Rickman’s portrayal of a protective and paranoid father is on point. Ramdam mo yung takot niya. The musical score sa third act is awesome and really elevates the climax. Ben Whishaw as Jean Baptiste is great. He performs with a calm but unhinged presence. Laser focused yung passion niya, which makes the character even more disturbing. Ironic lang na ang nagbuko pa sa kanya ng mga kagagawan niya is someone na malakas din ang pang amoy which is yung aso ng prostitute na pinatay din niya. Ang kulit nung nagkaroon ng mass hallucination sa sobrang bango ng gawa niya. Lakas ng projection haha. Nagka orgy pa nga, hindi lang laglag panty. Kung saan siya pinanganak, doon din siya namatay. Parang metaphor ng "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust"