The film unfolds the narrative process of the film with the movement of Grenoyer's nose, and also shows the uniqueness of the protagonist Grenoyer: It is under the guidance of his talented sense of smell that Grenoyer's life can be found in the world. Survive, develop, prosper and eventually destroy.
Although the film traces the story back to the 18th century, the film is guided by the sense of smell and takes the search for perfume as the narrative clue. Through the character image of Grenoyer, it reveals to the audience that it is an individual in a modern society. The myth of self-realization, the lack of belonging and love led to the destruction of the myth, which is the main thrust of the film. The reason why the need for belonging and love has not been satisfied, careful consideration of the film, is inseparable from the lustful humanity and indifferent interpersonal relationship of Grenoye’s era, and this is the reality of modern social conditions. The portrayal, the film’s social criticism and ethical reflection are also highlighted.
As far as the visual level is concerned, the violent factor does not really appear, but in a nearly cold narrative, the nerve uterus of the audience can be calmed. This is closely related to the director's deep social criticism of the symbol "perfume". As far as the social structure of the rich and the poor is concerned, the concrete representation of perfume is a symbol of upper-class social status, assets and wealth. It is also a barrier that prevents the lower-class people from entering the upper-class prosperous city. It is a symbol that the poor can only be heard but never approached. The indifference and status gap seen by "perfume" is fully revealed. The world was originally a filthy and rotten likeness, but the upper-class society with power and wealth used perfume to hide, squandered the property looted from being enslaved, and constantly strengthened itself as a slave and a victim. The status gap between the enslaved and the poor. The result is that social order and social psychology will shift to a certain extent.
The extraction of maiden body scent as the material for the development of perfume originated from Grenoyer's first awareness of individual differences. At the same time, maidenness also means a kind of purity, that is, an undamaged state of authenticity. This is in sync with the enlightenment of his own individual consciousness. Because of this, he began to perceive the world with the eyes of an adult man, to recognize a purely closed self. Every young girl is a living individual, extracting their body scent to make perfume to conquer all people, including upper-class nobles and executioners, the purpose is to prove that the uniqueness of the girl has value. To a certain psychological level, it can temporarily prevent others from discovering that they don't have deodorant. In a dualistic world, adopt a simple and effective principle of complementarity to expand oneself. As a perfume creator, I deserve to be better respected and affirmed. However, the fact is quite the opposite. People accused him of murder and strongly demanded the death penalty. To a certain extent, this is a negation and irony of Grenoye's pursuit of self-subjective value, and it has also accelerated the collapse of the protagonist's spiritual world and even his degeneration. The tragic tension contained in it is extremely strong.
In an abstract sense, the mystery of "perfume", that is, the mystery of individual identity and subject value, is also the clarification of human nature. When the whole mystery was solved, Grenoye had a sense of nothingness he had never had before, and the final madness of pouring the perfume made by the girl's body fragrance all over his head to induce the poor to eat it up. Death is not terrible. It is terrible when people live without their true self. It is even more terrifying that the subjective value of human beings and born, that is, the nature of nature is obscured to produce despair. (by)
