Les parfums

This is what I love about so many French films. They take a very simple premise and tell you a story. Most often with a touch of heart, spirit, humanity.

A divorced father adores his 10 year old and faces losing his bit of custody if he doesn't get a bigger apartment so she can have her own proper room and he must also have a good job to prove that he can care properly for her.

Close to losing his license for speeding fines, his job being a chauffeur, he is precariously close to becoming someone about to fall between the cracks.

But in driving for a new client, an entire world-shift is about to happen.

Enjoyable and easy, heartwarming and paced, great for a feelgood watch.

In French with subtitles.

Lovely film about a famous French "nose" (Emmanuelle Devos) who can discern a huge variety of smells, making her perfect in the perfume industry.

She hires a driver, Guillaume (Gregory Montel) who is trying to improve his living situation so he can have his young daughter with him. He is desperate to keep his job, but Anne's demands rub him the wrong way. However, he is able to stand up to her, which not many do. The two develop a close bond.

When she loses her sense of smell, Guillaume is there for her during her struggle to regain it.

Very sweet film with excellent performances.

The story of a friendship between a selfish fragrance designer who is one of the best in her field, and her chauffeur who needs to cling to his job so that he can live with his daughter. There are no surprises or twists in the film, and everything falls into place where you expect it to. Even so, the chemistry between the two lead actors is so great that these cliches seem acceptable. A refreshing French comedy with a few laughs.

This is a good little independent French film that has humor and heart. It's a story for adults, but without sex, thought provoking, and has both humor and sadness. The two main actors are wonderfully understated here and believable as we watch their friendship emerge. I was reminded a little bit of the early seasons of BONES.

Perhaps it's me as an American viewer who doesn't get some of the choices made in structuring the film. Some scenes are cut seemingly short, we never know how she solved the "handbag smell" or stinky factory problem. Likewise, we don't see how she begins to create perfumes again. There is often some wonderful tension in scenes, tension that doesn't fully play out to dramatic effect. It made me wonder what else we missed from these capable actors? But perhaps this is the French way and I'm just used to American dramatics, overacting, and having many more details given for "the swelling of a scene?"

I also subtracted a couple of stars because while this is an enjoyable quiet type of film, the ending did seem highly unlikely considering he was a chauffeur and didn't have her chemistry background (at least she appeared to have a chemistry education). Perhaps had we seen more of them beginning to work together as a team to solve a customer problem together, this wouldn't have seemed such fairy tale type ending. Also, the scene with her doctor was just very odd - it played more like he was going to be a potential romantic interest or something, which felt off and didn't quite mesh with where the story was at at that moment. Nice film, but could've been edited better.

A very long time ago I watched "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989). There are some similarities between that movie and "Perfumes". Not many, but some. Ms Daisy and Anne Walberg are both bossy and yes, it takes a while for them to connect with new people.

Annes driver Guillaume Favre is a divorced man. He has a daughter that he wants to have shared custody of. In other words, he really needs his job. Guillaume isn´t afraid to speak his mind. He doesn´t put up with everything that Anne does or says. But I also think that Anne and Guillaume develop themselves as humans together.

I missed more info about Guillaumes ex-wife. Why did their marriage end? And why is Anne Walberg still single? But all in all I do recommend this movie. I liked it and, who knows, you might like it too.