A man with no smell
The actual debate amongst film buffs is... scented. Can you, thanks to the motion picture, live up to the masterpiece of literature that is Das Parfum? The book was supposedly unadaptable, because of the wonderfully detailed descriptions of the fragrances felt by the hero's over-developed nose.
Why would that be? After all, you're not actually smelling the scents while reading the book. You're making your own mind impression, transcribing Süskind's descriptions into a mental feeling. Words can bring this to your brain, why wouldn't images? In Chocolat for instance, I could almost taste them. It's mainly because I love chocolate and know the smell very well. But I don't know the scent of a tannery, so despite all the descriptions of the book, I can't really imagine what it's like - pretty horrible, it seems.
Through words, the experience of smelling is quite personal, and it must be the same through images.
I haven't seen the movie - yet - but I heard that Tom Tykwer did a tremendous job, and that the feelings of Grenouille are well rendered thanks to the talent of Ben Wishaw.
This chronicle is to be continued... after I've seen the film, to bring more objectivity to my argument.
Comments
On n'avait pas entendu de très bons commentaires de nos amis, mais quand même, comme ni Lena ni moi n'avions réussi à lire le bouquin de Süskind en entier, on a décidé d'y aller pour voir la fin. Alors, même si le film n'est pas absolument génial, je dois dire qu'on était très contente toutes les deux de savoir enfin la fin de l'histoire ! Je dirais que le film est parfois un peu ennuyeux, mais dans l'ensemble, pas si mal. En tout cas personnellement je ne regrette pas de l'avoir vu.
si la fin a changé, oh la la, quand je vais dire ça à Lena elle va pas être contente...