He lived to find beauty. He killed to possess it.
Perfume the Movie (2006) is set in the colourful backdrop of 18th century France centering on the life of an unfortunate boy, Jean Baptiste, born in the slums of a Paris fish market. Left for dead amongst rotting fish guts, he inhales the plethora of scents around him. He is rescued by some passers by and is subsequently placed in an orphanage. He is an odd child and a social outcast. Possibly as a result of his traumatic birth, he is blessed with outstanding olfactory senses: from early childhood he displays an uncanny ability for discerning the individual smells of everything around him. The twists and turns of his early life are one continuous tragic story. His quest is to learn the art of perfume making and, once taught, Jean Baptise desires to make the ultimate perfume. His skilfully crafted perfumes have the ability to provoke unexpected reactions in both the wearer and the recipient. During his apprenticeship, he discovers he has no personal smell and is initially devastated. On his journey to create olfactory perfection, he seeks alternative ingredients to his perfumes and, in doing so, leaves a grisly trail...
