Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Knight at the Movies: Perfume: The Story
by Richard Knight, Jr.
2007-01-03

This article shared 3959 times since Wed Jan 3, 2007
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Perfume, Tom Tykwer

_________

Why do I feel so passionate and so protective about Perfume: The Story of a Murderer? I honestly can't trace all the reasons but I can tell you that I reacted to it on a visceral, extremely deep level—a rare event for one who watches movies for a living. For me, it was one of those great movie occurrences that rarely happens and continues to keep me enthralled with the medium itself. It's the one movie I've been advising friends to see unencumbered by the trailer, which reveals too much ( as most of them do ) , and unsullied by reviews like this one ( which shall go on to praise the film to the skies ) or others that have already tossed it in the cinematic trash bin. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer may not have been the best movie of 2006 but for me, it was hands down the best movie experience of 2006 ( and yes, I think there's a difference ) .

The film, based on the 1985 European publishing sensation by Patrick Süskind, has been brought to the screen by German-based director-writer-composer Tom Tykwer, best known in the U.S. for Run Lola Run. Tykwer has solved the book's Catch-22: How to film a story that focuses on a man whose sense of smell is so strong he can pick up the scent of a woman ( and everything else ) from miles away? In Tykwer's hands, the answer is to ramp up the assault on the other senses. So the film is ravishingly photographed, the sets meticulously detailed and the accompanying music score ( which Tykwer co-composed ) hauntingly beautiful.

Set in 19th-century France, the story follows the infamous life and career of the fictional Jean-Baptiste Grenouille ( played by British theatre actor Ben Whishaw ) , who is orphaned soon after being born into extreme poverty in the slums. Growing up, the quiet, watchful Grenouille's extraordinary sense of smell aids in his ability to survive and eventually leads him to the streets of Paris, a heaven on Earth for one with such a large olfactory cavity. All this is graphically presented in either nauseating or delightful detail ( with Tykwer's cinematographer Frank Griebe and set crew also working on all cylinders ) . By chance, on his first night in the odorous mecca, Grenouille ( whose story is relayed in a delicious narration by John Hurt ) encounters the scent of love itself exuding from a pretty street vendor who sells fruit. Circumstances cause Grenouille to lose the girl's scent and desperate to recapture it; he apprentices with a master perfumer ( Dustin Hoffman ) who has lost his ability to come up with something diverting for the nobility.

When that fails, the ingenious Grenouille travels to the heart of perfume-making country where he tries again, in increasingly unorthodox ways, to recreate the aroma of his beloved. This is where the 'murderer' tag comes into the film, which goes into cat-and-mouse territory for a while. ( Alan Rickman playing a nobleman trying to protect his titian haired daughter is a central character in this section. ) The spectacular climax of the film comes when Grenouille's horrifying methods are revealed to the public. This sequence, over-the-top and sensual, startled and delighted me, but its sheer audacity is going to make many audience members, I admit, react in the opposite fashion. Tykwer's music score ( on which he collaborated with Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek ) , which has superbly followed the film's mood, reaches its climax at this moment as well. ( The score is also this year's best. )

Critical and public reaction to the frankly unique Perfume: The Story of a Murderer may not find it ending up with the lingering sweet smell of success but for film sensualists, lovers of all things gothic and the cinematic adventurous, Tom Tykwer's movie, to say the least, is an exotic specimen.

Film Notes:

— We know up front in the documentary Unauthorized and Proud of It that outlaw comic book publisher Todd Loren was murdered in 1992 at the age of 32, but it's not until the film's last 15 minutes that we also learn that Loren was gay and that his murder may have had something to do with his closeted lifestyle. The film touches on Loren's business acumen at a tender age, his questionable business ethics, his fiery character, his sharp-edged humor, and the rock stars whose lives he turned into comic books he published. However, no one notes or attempts to explain at any point in this intermittently entertaining warts-and-all portrait the incongruity of a man who fought hard for First Amendment rights ( so he could publish the unauthorized comics ) yet remained deeply closeted. Jan. 5 and 8 at the Gene Siskel Film Center. www.siskelfilmcenter.org

— The Beales of Grey Gardens, a continuation of the 1976 documentary Grey Gardens, opens this Friday at the Music Box in its Chicago premiere. The film contains all-new material left out of what is surely one of the most offbeat documentaries of all. Grey Gardens is the infamous, fascinating film about eccentric mother and daughter Big Edie and Little Edie ( Beale ) , cousins of Jackie Kennedy who chose to live together in their decaying seaside mansion in abject poverty. The original documentary has also provided inspiration for a musical version that is now a Broadway hit.

— Notes on a Scandal, one of my top 10 LGBT films for 2006, is now playing in Chicago. The film—which tracks the unrequited love of bossy, imperious Barbara ( Judi Dench ) for her fellow prep school teacher Sehba ( Cate Blanchett ) and the ensuing machinations when she discovers an illicit affair between Sheba and a male student—provides Dench with a juicy, acidic role that on the stage would be classed as legendary. It's not much below that on screen.

—On the Downlow, the story of two Latino gang members involved in a secret gay relationship and filmed in Chicago's Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods, is being released on DVD from Image Entertainment on Tuesday, Jan. 9. The film won raves on the film festival circuit for Chicago-based director Tadeo Garcia.

You can find my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Feedback can be left at the latter Web site.

WCT Film Writer

in Movie

When he was in college, Steve Warren worked on the stage crew. It took him several decades to realize his childhood ambition of being a movie star.

Well, his dream is being realized. After years of working as an extra in major films ( including Striptease and Boycott ) , Warren—who occasionally contributes film-related articles to Windy City Times—will be featured in the movie Psychopathia Sexualis, which will be released on DVD Jan. 9.

Based on Richard von Krafft-Ebing's case studies in the late 19th century, the experimental narrative ( described on IMDB.com as a 'notorious medico-forensic study of sexual perversity' ) was written and directed by Bret Wood in Atlanta, where Warren lives with his partner of 18 years, and Chattanooga. Warren appears in the episodic film's last major segment as Pere Lindstrom, a stern father trying to keep his impressionable daughter ( Veronica Duerr ) away from her lesbian tutor ( Lisa Paulsen ) .


This article shared 3959 times since Wed Jan 3, 2007
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

SHOWBIZ Celine Dion, 'The People's Joker,' Billy Porter, Patti LuPone, 'Strange Way' 2024-04-19
- I Am: Celine Dion will stream on Prime Video starting June 25, according to a press release. The film is described as follows: "Directed by Academy Award nominee Irene Taylor, I Am: Celine Dion gives us ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ film fest Queer Expression to feature Alexandra Billings in 'Queen Tut' 2024-04-12
--From a press release - CHICAGO — Pride Film Fest celebrates its second decade with a new name—QUEER EXPRESSION—and has announced its slate of LGBTQ+-themed feature, mid-length and short films for in-person and virtual events in April and May. QUEER EXPRESSI ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jerrod Carmichael, '9-1-1' actor, Kayne the Lovechild, STARZ shows, Cynthia Erivo 2024-04-12
- Gay comedian/filmmaker Jerrod Carmichael criticized Dave Chappelle, opening up about the pair's ongoing feud and calling out Chappelle's opinions on the LGBTQ+ community, PinkNews noted, citing an Esquire article. Carmichael ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Outfest, Chita Rivera, figure skaters, letter, playwright dies 2024-04-05
- For more than four decades, Outfest has been telling LGBTQ+ stories through the thousands of films screened during its annual Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival—but that event may have a different look this year because ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Dionne Warwick, OUTshine, Ariana DeBose, 'Showgirls,' 'Harlem' 2024-03-29
Video below - Iconic singer Dionne Warwick was honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV/AIDS at a star-studded amfAR fundraising gala in Palm Beach, per the Palm Beach Daily News. Warwick received the "Award of ...


Gay News

WORLD Israel court, conversion therapy, death sentences, Georgia bill, fashion items 2024-03-29
- Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Population Authority must register female couples as mothers on the birth certificates of their children they have together, The Washington Blade reported. The decision was made following a petition ...


Gay News

JP Karliak morphs into non-binary character for Disney+'s X-Men '97 2024-03-22
- series X-Men '97, a revival of the popular X-men: The Animated Series that's both continuing the ongoing mutant storyline and breaking new ground along the way. The character of Morph now looks more like the comic ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21
- It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

Dorian Film Awards: 'All of Us Strangers' takes top prizes 2024-02-27
- February 26, 2024 - Los Angeles, Ca. - For its 15th Dorian Film Awards, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics fully embraced All of Us Strangers, writer-director Andrew Haigh's fantastical and tear-inducing tale of two ...


Gay News

SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25
- Queer entertainers made their mark—although not a major one—at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...


Gay News

WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar 2024-02-23
- The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor
Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.