Perfume is not a movie about human nature. The protagonist of this film, even if it is said that there is no humanity, is not an exaggeration. But there was still something appealing about him.
That is Godhead.
The role of the male protagonist is based on the story of Dionysus, one of the twelve gods of Olympus, in many places. Greek mythology I remember a little bit, and the similarities are listed below.
1. Appearance
Dionysus was the god of winemaking. In Greek mythology, Dionysus, the god of wine, is often seen as a handsome boy with a vine around his head. Due to Hera's curse, he was always in a trance and wandered the land.
The image of the male protagonist is a thin teenager with messy hair who used to wander for a long time.
2. Doom Ability
In Greek mythology, Bacchus once boarded a sailboat passing through the island of Delos. The crew did not know his identity, but seeing that he was a handsome young man, they planned to transport him to the slave market to sell. As a result, all but one of his sympathizers were cursed and turned into dolphins.
In the film, all those who harbor malice against Grenouille are doomed. The first time, his mother tried to abandon him and was hanged; the second time, the orphanage nanny sold him and was killed by robbers; the third time, the owner of the leather workshop sold him , and then killed by a carriage; the fourth time, the owner of a perfume shop, who tried to make a fortune with his formula, died in a house collapse.
3. Jailbreak ability
In mythology, when Dionysus arrived in Thebes, many citizens worshipped and followed him, which made the king Pentheus of Thebes very angry and sent him to a dungeon. But an invisible hand opened the shackles and the cell door for him and let him go. The king ordered that all the followers of the god of wine be arrested, but the shackles and door locks also opened by themselves. The servant sent by the king to arrest Bacchus also returned in a trance. The king ordered the god of wine to be imprisoned in heavy chains and locked in a cave. As a result, Bacchus called for an earthquake, which collapsed the brick wall at the entrance of the cave, and the shackles were automatically released, and Bacchus came out safe and sound.
This scene is similar to the one in the film: After Grenouille is arrested, he pours the finished perfume into his hands. So the jailers were willing to obey him, respectfully opened the cell door and prepared clothes and a carriage for him, and let him out.
4. The Illusion of Recognition
After failing to arrest Dionysus, Pentheus went to confront Dionysus himself. As a result he was surrounded by devotees, with the king's own mother at the forefront. The king wanted to throw himself into his mother's arms, but the mother, under the influence of Dionysian's hallucination, recognized her son as a wild lion and tore off his arm with her own hands. The followers then swarmed and killed him.
In the movie, it is the other way around. In the hallucination of perfume, Sir Antoine recognizes the murderer as his son and hugs him and weeps bitterly.
5. Gathering for licentious behavior
The image of Dionysus, the god of wine, originally originated in Asia Minor in the 13th century BC. At that time, the Bacchus festival still retained quite primitive customs. Drinking binge is often accompanied by mass fornication. Later, the image of the god of wine was introduced to Greece and became one of the main gods of Olympus. The Dionysian festival has also evolved into the most important carnival in Greece - the Great Dionysian Festival in March. Dionysus was introduced to Rome around the 3rd century BC, but the Romans strictly controlled it. In 186 BC, the Senate ordered the prohibition of the Dionysian ceremony and arrested 7,000 men and women suspected of congregating fornication at one time, many of whom were executed.
In the movie, Grenouille released a large amount of perfume at the execution ground at one time, causing all the citizens present to be dominated by hallucinations and have a mass fornication. Later, everyone had to pretend that this case did not happen. In fact, the original novel has been directly pointed out here:
"The plan to execute the most heinous criminals of the era turned into a grand Dionysian festival. The dignified women tore their corsets, and the men, with bewildered eyes, stumbled to the ground where they lay naked. Walking, the streets are in disorder, the house is filled with the sweet smell of heavy lust, full of the loud cries, mutterings and sighs of ten thousand orcs, like hell."
6. Dismembered food
In Greek mythology, the real name of the god of wine when he was born was Zagerius. Hera, out of jealousy, designed him to be captured by the Titans. The titans shredded him and cooked him. Later his father Zeus rescued his heart and reborn him as Dionysus.
The film ends with Grenouille pouring perfume on himself, dismembering and eating him by the hallucination-driven underclassmen.
So strictly speaking, if Grenouille is indeed Dionysian, the ending of the movie does not mean death. It was a rebirth procedure for him.
(over)
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