Parfum

This is the first German show I've ever watched and I have to say I am impressed. Perfume kept me hooked throughout the whole season and is quite unexpected. For instance the last episode was a complete surprise but also wrapped things up very nicely. The characters are very real and flawed to an extent that there aren't really any character that I even liked. They all seemed, for a lack of a better term, like bad people. But that is what made this show so interesting. The theme itself, although inspired by the book and film of the same name, explored the sensation of scent a bit more and dwells into human psychology and the desire everyone has to be loved and appreciated. Although be warned, this tv series is definitely quite dark and in some moments even repulsive, so I would say it's not for the faint hearted. In conclusion, if you are into dark European crime thrillers and don't mind reading subtitles, check it out, as I personally feel this show is the highlight of Netflix 2019 so far.

PARFUM is one of a kind. An excellent example for pure thrill. It is very slow and builds up the story with an unheard level of intensity. What stood out the most was the tragedy in each and every of the characters. All are broken, all lost, all have their own very very dark side and history which is revealed in tiny steps. I found esp the 5th and 6th episode extremely disturbing. Not because of gore and blood, but because of the humanity, their desperate search for love and how locked all characters are in their own life, believe and thinking. I hardly experienced something like that before and recommend this gem to all who look for something dark, sinister and heart wrenching..

But, man, what an interesting, well-made series. I didn't like that they left a lot of ends dangling and the fact that a lot of bad people got away basically scot-free. It's the American expectation for things to be tied up into a pretty bow, but I'm willing to accept the difference in this case (and maybe we're left to assume the one cop actually focusing on doing his job will finish things off). Every suspicion I had early on was correct, but I kept binging until I finished it. It's almost 3 a.m. and I get up for work early, but I had to finish it!

I have not read the novel Parfum, so I have no way of knowing if it's an attempt at an adaptation. I it doubt since the novel is such an integral part of the plot. Props for atmosphere and acting here. I watched it with subtitles and heard it with English dubbing. At times, the subtitles and dubbing were using rather different ways of saying the same thing. Kind of fascinating. It was a good mystery/crime story and the writers made use of the multi-episodes to gradually reveal a bit more of the mystery. I found it difficult to tell the boys apart when they were younger (exception being Toothless) and couldn't quite figure out who was really Elena's boyfriend back in the day. The writers made good use of flashbacks.

I also read Suskind's book, and while it is part of the subject line, this is a stand-alone work of art. The writing, acting, and cinematography are all outstanding. Forget the book. This is one of the best series available in the Netflix library.