Les Parfums

Les Parfums (2019) is a charming French dramedy that follows the intriguing world of Anne Walberg (Emmanuelle Devos), a talented but prickly perfumer, and her unlikely bond with her troubled driver, Guillaume Favre (Grégory Montel). Director Grégory Magne skillfully tells a story full of humor, intelligence, and subtle character growth.

Devos shines as the moody Anne, who has lost her reputation in the perfume business because of her hard-to-please attitude. Montel, as Guillaume, plays the role of a single dad trying to reconnect with his distant daughter. Together, they become an odd couple, helping each other to restore Anne's career and Guillaume's family life.

The cinematography is gorgeous, showing the scenic countryside of France and the intricate craft of perfume making. The film's music also enhances the story's emotional richness and the characters' personal transformation.

Les Parfums (2019) is not only a revealing look into the perfume industry but also a touching tale of two imperfect individuals finding comfort and healing in each other's presence. While the film's pace may seem slow at times, it allows for a deeper appreciation of the characters and their individual journeys.

Overall, Les Parfums (2019) is a well-made movie that will enchant audiences with its witty humor, captivating plot, and the irresistible chemistry between Devos and Montel. It's a sensory experience that will stay with you long after the movie ends.

A few scenes are surprisingly suddenly cut, leaving spectators hungry and a bit angry, wanting to know what could have happened and often could have been very funny. Maybe the director, and script writer himself, suffered from a few minutes of lack of inspiration. Too bad. The movie is saved by the actors, especially Emmanuelle Devos, perfect, very realistic and true-to-life in the role of the « nose ».

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.

Perfumes is a delightful touching comedy.

I didn't realise that some people work is all about knowing all the smells, all the aromas so they can create perfumes and scents.

Now I know why when opening a bottle of shampoo for example , the smell alone can make you buy it, just like that, regardless whether the shampoo cleans well or not !

Haha 😂 What makes this comedy charming is the man who is a loser but tries to be a good dad despite being down in his luck.

This is until he meets the woman who is the expert in smell.

An unlikely friendship develops between them and from that they both grow to become better persons.

Very enjoyable movie, inded !

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.