Etoile

This is a very cute story, but there could have been a lot more to it. The story is only about Lior's journey to his bar mitzvah, and there are only two brief moments of philosophical exploration. The first is when Lior's father says that Lior has fewer "veils" between himself and God, and the second is when a woman suggests that Lior is just imitating that which earned him praise when he was younger. There's a lot of room for philosophy here, and the movie could have been a lot longer. But it's not - there's only the story of a young man.

Praying with Lior is definitely cute. Lior himself is very high-functioning and I think this movie is relevant to both the Jewish community and intellectual disability communities. It's a fun watch, but don't look for too much in-depth philosophy.

This was a great movie, my first time seeing what it is like for deaf people in Japan. I never saw JSL before but I think I learned a few words from this movie! I go to Gallaudet University and I will have to ask around to see if there are any Japanese students there, because I would like to learn more JSL from them. This movie was very sweet with a happy ending! They seem to have used deaf actors and actresses but there are also some characters (Asako's husband, the neighbor girl) who are hearing but seem to be very good in JSL. There are some very tender moments but it turns out to be a very positive movie. I didn't know the ILY sign was used all over the world! I got this movie off eBay on DVD so you might be able to find it too...the English subtitles are pretty good so anybody can enjoy it. (If you are Japanese and deaf, you might be able to find a version with Japanese subtitles, because not all of it is signed, there are some parts that are spoken only.)

I was surprised to find so many comments already on this movie; I didn't realize that it had been widely released in Europe before it was available in the U.S. I just saw a special screening as part of a perfume club event, and I was approaching this from the perspective of someone who had not read the book.

The movie is pretty good, but that's all I can say about it. I felt no attachment to any of the characters, particularly any of the girls - it had no impact on me when they met their fates. I found Grenouille an utterly distasteful character, and not at all well-played; the actor did not seem to put any heart into the role, I didn't think he made it his own...he was wooden the whole time. Dustin Hoffman, on the other hand, was an excellent choice for his role.

"Perfume" is artistically decent. It was refreshing to see a well-crafted movie that was not a huge Hollywood blockbuster - from an American perspective, the film is somewhat edgy, but it was easy to look at...not a single scene was poorly designed.

A word of caution for animal lovers: Avert your eyes during the scene where Grenouille discovers the smells of glass and copper cannot be distilled.