After realizing that she is dead, he strips her body naked and smells her all over, becoming distraught when her scent fades. To prevent her from crying out, he covers the girl's mouth and unintentionally suffocates her. He focuses on a redheaded girl selling yellow plums, following her and repeatedly attempting to sniff her, but startles her with his behavior. After growing to maturity as a tanner's apprentice, he makes his first delivery to Paris, where he revels in all the new scents. Raised in an orphanage, Grenouille grows into a strangely detached boy with a superhuman sense of smell. Between the reading of the sentence and the execution, the story of his life is told in flashback, beginning with his abandonment at birth in a French fish market. The film begins with the sentencing of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a notorious murderer. Critics' reviews of the film were mixed the consensus was that the film had strong cinematography and acting but suffered from an uneven screenplay. It grossed over $135 million worldwide, of which over $53 million was made in Germany. Perfume was released on Septemin Germany, Decemin the United Kingdom, and Decemin the United States. $60 million), making it one of the most expensive German films. The film was made on a budget of €50 million (est. Principal photography began on Jand concluded on Octofilming took place in Spain, Germany, and France. Tykwer was selected as the director and joined the two in developing the screenplay in 2003. Producer Eichinger bought the film rights to Süskind's novel in 2000 and began writing the screenplay together with Birkin. Set in 18th-century France, the film tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Whishaw), an olfactory genius, and his homicidal quest for the perfect scent. The screenplay, by Tykwer, Andrew Birkin and Bernd Eichinger, is based on Patrick Süskind's 1985 novel of the same name. Tykwer, with Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil, also composed the music. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a 2006 period psychological thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, and Dustin Hoffman. But if you are annoyed rather than challenged by films with an elliptical storytelling technique and many characters you would do well to give this one a wide berth. The production design, the editing, and the soundtrack are first class. "Perfume" is recommended for those who might identify with its setting or its themes. Although this initially seems like poor directing, on reflection it is more authentic than giving Hemingway carefully scripted lines and a smooth delivery. For example, Harris and Mariel Hemingway do a photographer/model photo shoot where his improv is excellent and hers is somewhat lame. Although "Perfume" was a scripted film there is considerable improvisation in the performances, with mixed results. How well the film works for individual viewers will be determined by the identification process, which will naturally be easier for those familiar with the world of high fashion or with other environments where creativity is exploited for profit. Whether we are artists, artisans, robots, or drones each day is one of struggle with external competitors and internal demons. What "Perfume" has going for it (like Robert Altman's "Pret a Porter") is success working on two levels, as a glimpse inside the fashion industry and as a metaphorical extension (of what it reveals) to our day-to-day struggle in the competitive world. But promotional misrepresentation, even to this extreme, has no relationship to the quality of the film. The five biggest parts are played by Rita Wilson, Leslie Munn, Joanne Baron, Jared Harris, and Sorvino, none of whom are even mentioned in the promotional materials. Supermodel Estella Warren is highlighted on the promotional poster but is just window dressing in two scenes. Carmen Electra is given first billing but appears in only one short scene, a wide shot of her talking to Paul Sorvino. First on the agenda is a cautionary statement about the trailer, the DVD cover, and the general promotional campaign. But since everything is relative this comparison may not translate into anything very useful for the prospective viewer. Coming from that perspective "Perfume" is a lyrical masterpiece, both more ambitious and more successful than those two disasters. But having recently viewed similar fashion industry/magazine films, "Fashionably LA" and "The Intern", I am unexpectedly well versed in this narrow sub-genre. Wow, I never expected to find myself in the position of defending a film like "Perfume" which I only watched because Angela Bettis had a small role.