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.
Add a Review
-
hopekristen31 December 2018Even though it's dubbed per in English it's surprisingly easy to follow. It's different than anything I've ever seen. Really good!
-
TdSmth51 April 2019A dead woman is found in a pool. She's naked, her hair cut off, as well as tissue from her armpits and genitals removed. In charge of the arrangements are 5 childhood friends of the victim, nicknamed K. They include Roman who lives nearby and had something going on with K but who's married to Elena, the violent Butsche who owns a whorehouse, the black sheep of the group nicknamed "Toothless," and Moritz, a fragrance nose who develops perfumes.
In charge of the investigation is Nadja who is involved with the married father of two district attorney tasked with this case. The 5 friends are automatic suspects and even they suspect each other. In flashbacks we learn how they met at their catholic boarding school, except for Elena. K was the seductress who fooled around with Roman and Butsche and flirted with every man. Later on they met Elena reading the book the Perfume and she joins the group. Elena suggest they start experimenting with scents like in the book.
During the investigation cops find out that a kid from the boarding school disappeared and start searching for him. And eventually find him, with similar wounds as K. They also find out that K remained promiscuous during her adulthood. She became a moderately successful singer who took a different man home every night.
In repeated flashbacks we learn how Roman and Butsche had a falling out over the girls and how the girls were also used for revenge. Today the frictions remain between the two over Elena, now Roman's wife. Toothless remained socially inept, shy, single, and insecure and is undergoing therapy for it. Moritz seems to be the only functioning one, who actually is shown to have a job, and is intelligent. He provides voice-overs explaining things about fragrances.
Next, one of Butsche's prostitutes is killed in the same manner. Because Toothless visited her, he becomes the prime suspect, as we learn more about his relationship to Elena. He's of course the nice guy always willing to help, while Roman is highly abusive and constantly beats Elena but because of the daughter, she can't leave him.
One final victim appears as things start slowly unraveling for everyone. Nadja ends up pregnant and can't make up her mind if she wants the baby or not or if she wants to stay with the DA or not. He's not sure either. We learn about the motivations for the killing and who's behind them.
Parfum is your typical German crime procedural drawn out over 6 hour-long episodes. IMDB says they're 45-minute episodes, not sure if they were cut/censored in certain markets. There is very strong and unsavory material here so I wouldn't be surprised. Things proceed in a crawl, with countless long pointless scenes. The whole idea of a group of childhood friends never appealed to me, there's just too much history and past to which we are not privy. But here they did their best to include us with all the flashbacks, too many in my opinion. Until the final episode I couldn't even tell which kid was which adult. Those scenes of adolescence and sexual awakenings and curiosity are well portrayed. The crime investigation itself is pretty thrilling, but unfortunately not the focus. This miniseries is really about motherhood, parenting, about growing up without parents or with dysfunctional parents. And of course the motive for the crimes comes down to that all-important need to be loved, to be desired, to be admired. It's not as some reviewers claim about manipulation with scent, it's about what motivates people to do that.
Production is strong, as always with German programs though filmed during winter. The police work has a colder look while the scenes with the friends are warmer. The music is excellent and makes things more thrilling than they really are. Sometimes the music gets ahead of itself reaching a climax that isn't there. or comes later. The characters are all solid, except perhaps for the rather empty Roman and the dull adult Elena. Nadja, too, doesn't make the most compelling lead. The violent but funny Butsche and the smart, mysterious, and charismatic Moritz steal the show. A shame we didn't get to see more of them.
One has to invest a lot of time in Perfum, but ultimately it's worthwhile. -
maggiewalker426529 December 2018Wow - this is an unusual piece of television. It is very dark, full of sexualised behaviours which are quite unhealthy. Its almost like a Freudian guide of murder. This dark and convoluted tale should hold you inits grip. It is a piece of art. The acting is superb and for once the actors chosen to represent the adult characters actually resemble them which strengthens the impact of the story line. Most of these characters are pretty awful individuals and the epitome of dysfunction. The cinematography is well done and the dismal winter surroundings bring an added feeling of doom that enhances the story line. This is seriously worth a watch. It is not for those who like fast police shows with lots of action and poor or predictable story-lines, you will need to engage your grey matter with this but it is worth every second.
-
mohinderchugh23 December 2018It is claimed that This series is an adaptation of Sueskind's outstanding novel. I have not read the novel so can not say if it is true. Whatever information I got from internet regarding the novel it seems It is just loosely inspired by Novel idea of superior olfactory sense of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille . It has taken the basic idea but story seems to be completely different . It is very dark story full of nudity with a lots of twists specially in last 2 episodes. You will not be able to guess who is the killer till last episode. Story moves in two time zones . It will take two episodes and you will be fully engrossed in this complex story of love,lust ,hatred ,betrayal and friendship.Lead female detective who is very good in her job is also facing lots of personal issue. Expect the unexpected in the end. This series reveals to what extent human can go to get her or his love. This series may not be best but it is extremely good. If you love dark mystery than you must watch this. These type of European cinema is quite different from Hollywood Cinema.
-
Ok so I just binged the series in one evening and although I had early morning work I couldn't stop until 12:30am. This means I found the series addictive and you cannot stop once you start.
In saying that, I wish the ending was different!
Anywho I want to put my view on the story and here it is-
The series is slow paced but keeps you engaged, the acting is good and the screenplay is captivating. However, the story relies heavily on shock value. They are showing you things that are so out of normal for a regular person, hence you are hooked to see the lives of these deranged people.
Basically, the story revolves around these 6 'friends' who are, in my opinion, somewhat perverted and love to hangout together because they share the same crooked ideology. I can imagine these guys will have hard time finding normality outside this circle and hence they stick with each other. There is no sense of friendship or companionship, and this is shown many times throughout the series, Butcher raping Elena, all 3 raping Elena, all choking each other over a small argument, no respect for your 'friend's' wife etc etc. They simply use each other for their own benefit.
This is never explained in the series why that's the case, I.e., why are they like this. I wish they had shown more of their parents and the background.
I don't understand how Toothless is in that school, is this via some scholarship program? I mean he doesn't look like he belonged to a high class society. And that catholic boarding looks like for rich parents? One more point- Why they don't go home during summer holidays. Etc etc.
Now let's talk about characters, I feel for Mortiz and Butcher, their character was developed a bit and of course Elena. But they don't show much about Katharine, Toothless and Roman. I want to know their backstory as well.
The story takes you places that makes you very uncomfortable, for example that orgy scene where Butcher is pleasing K, when you think of it, they are 13-14 year old kids! And then rape is like a casual thing anyone is doing it and no one is getting in trouble! And the old school principal is sleeping and impregnating 18 year old K.
Another thing that made me very uncomfortable was Elena killing that lady's son and wears his perfume to attract mother (Sandra Borgman). I mean to think of what the mother will go through when she will find this out! The daughter she took care of had killed her own son and worst- made a perfume out of him. How twisted is that!. I wish Elena got way harder punishment for that. Just to get beaten by her cruel husband and aborting her own child herself and being raped probably is not enough! She was a true freak to have done what she did. But I understand why she became like this. She suppressed her emotions so much so that she probably wanted to feel truly loved for once and this is her justification. Her father was also closed and retracted so perhaps no parental love there either.
And then we come to the cop. What a poorly written character. At least K did what she wanted to and lived life on her own terms. A female equivalent of a gigolo? But the cop had no self esteem. I rooted for her until she was pregnant and her decision to keep the baby but the ending was like - oh no you didn't. I wish they had shot it like this- "during fight with the psychiatrist, she accidentally breaks the perfume bottle but some gets spilled on her. And then Cop Boss comes and he is naturally attracted to her because of the perfume and she pushes him away and walks away from the scene and in the background they show Mattias looking at her. Making it look like she knew she had perfume on her and she could have used it to her advantage with the boss, but she is over this and finally moving on and Mattias is happy looking at this". This would have been way better ending instead of her stooping so low and trying it yet again to seduce him.
Now we come to the psychiatrist- why she does what she did is so under explained. I understand that she craved for her mother's love because the twin took all the love away but why K? Is it because Toothless is telling her about K? She could Have killed any other "unpredictable" woman for this! I wish they had rather shown the Paychiatrist during their teen years and she is wanting to grab their attention and they constantly insult her. Or probably rape her and threaten her. This will make more sense why she kills K and frame others or why she wanted to make the perfume of Love. But there is sadly no explanation and the killer comes out of the blue. And why is Jens helping her?
Anyway, I loved the series despite its flaws. Couldn't stop thinking about it! I definitely recommend for all dark thriller lovers.
P.S. any Dark fans here- it was a delight to see young and old Elizabeth Doppler both in this series -
michellegonnier22 December 2018This series is NOT AN ADAPTATION of Sueskind's outstanding novel. It is just loosely inspired by its ideas. For those fellas who might complain about it and exspect some Grenouillian time travel into modern times: don't watch it, spare us your disappointment. Those people who like dark atmospheres, detective stories with twists and unsettling characters will love this brilliant piece of art. And that's what it is, a piece of art. Cinematography and production design really did an impressive job by creating such aesthetic beauty in so many pictures, sometimes resembling enigmatic paintings. All characters are lost and seem to loose its ground beneath their feet. The narration is slow paced with long camera shots. The surroundings are grey and dreary but it matches perfectly with the story, which at some point leaves the viewer disturbed due to its explicit and gory scenes, underlined by a fantastic score. This piece of series does not take you by the hand, delivering evidences piece by piece, and has a rather unconventional way of story-telling. Just watch it in one row and get caught in a maelstrom of this cold, sad and misty world, where everybody has to hide something. I really loved it.
-
TokyoGyaru7 January 2021But, 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!
-
jeff-205126 December 2018I 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.
-
Vindelander5 February 2019Very loosely based on Patrick Suskind's highly unusual and much acclaimed book this is a very intriguing series. The plot takes some following as there are so many characters with personality disorders but if you like a mental workout this is for you.
Clever plot (perhaps too clever) with good acting set in current day - totally unlike Suskind's original book. I'd recommend that you see it !! -
l_jons13 March 2020This show is a waste of time. It takes itself way too seriously and tries so SO hard to be edgy and artistic. The storyline is cliche and predictable yet hard to follow at times, and there are many things in the show are entirely unrealistic. For example, the police find the buried bodies of a boy and a dog that had been dead for 20 + years, yet the bodies magically showed no signs of decomposition whatsoever. I know there are special circumstances were bodies can be preserved due to soil/ weather conditions, but this is never mentioned at all. Overall this show is boring emo garbage that seems like it was written by an angsty 16 year old who desperately wants to show how dark and disturbed they are. Please don't waste your time on this dumpster fire. There are much better shows out there that achieve the desired effect without all the nonsense.
-
hawktwo2 January 2019I 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.
-
Well, the benchmark is interesting, there is some suspense, but the group of suspects is often difficult to follow, as there are flashbacks to the past, to their youth (for some reason, performed by young adults). As for "major" performers, no one really stood out, Friederike Becht as Nadja Simon distinct, but as the story progresses, her thoughts and deeds become more airy-fairy. The perfume stuff adds rather vagueness than clarity and - at least for me - becomes a disconcerting element in the crime story.
The ending is rather odd and it seems that a lot was left open for the viewers´ interpretation - apparently catchy, but really not my cup of tea as regards a crime series. On the other hand, I can see why Parfum has been generally well accepted. -
Yvie814 February 2019I just finished watching this series, but I'm quite baffled reading all these 'over the moon' reviews! Personally I love a good German film or series, generally German actors are a lot better in acting than their Dutch colleagues imo (I am Dutch, I should know lol). This one really had potential, so it's quite a shame it didn't work out. But it really didn't do it for me. Yes, it is dark, but that only works when the storyline and the characters actually make some sense. The characters are all flat, unlikable and all seemed to be either physically and/or mentally abused in one way or another...almost left me thinking are all people in the Nordrhein area like this or something?? Though the depressing surroundings wouldn't cheer one up either I suppose.. But litteraly no-one acts any way normal! And the women are either hookers, nymphomaniacs or acting like complete morons.. Not to mention all the misogynist men! And then the ending, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it quite honestly, nothing of it really made any sense to me.. I guess the moral of this story is: never send your kid to a German (catholic) boarding school cause they'll all end up f*ed up in the head :-s
-
xxfilmnerdxx23 December 2018I binge watched all 6 episodes and i forgot time by loosing myself in this lonesome Fargo-like area somewhere in Germany, where two (true)-detectives try to solve a peculiar murder. It is surely different to the streaming material what we are used to and served today, but for me it was a welcome change. I got distracted so much by its strange atmosphere, perfectly designed and shot, that i sometimes forgot about following the subtitles. Moreover i really liked transfering the idea of scent and its obsession to modern times, being undercut with nostalgic 90ies scenes from the characters' youth. Interesting though disturbing story with a great denouement at its end.
-
tarkatheauteur3 January 2019I could look at the brilliant Friederike Becht walking across rooms and through doorways and watch emotions flicker across her face 7 days a week, and, as other reviewers have written, this is absolutely beautifully filmed and paced - as long as you don't mind a bit of 'European' slowness, which some reviewers clearly do. The loss is theirs. Some other reviewers have registered disquiet at the level of violence against women in the show. Yes, there is a lot, and it is often very graphic. But on the one hand, I see it often said that the levels of exploitation of and violence against women in western culture is a suppressed narrative which should be brought out into the open, and on the other this series does make that narrative very explicit, but not in a way that seems to me to valorize, aestheticize (unless you are a perfumier) or legitimize it - rather the opposite. So either you suppress the narrative, which is bad, or foreground it, which is also bad. The problem, here, from my perspective, is that the central characters in this show, including the police (and Nadja, I am also looking at you here) could not between them manage to identify a single point on any moral compass if their lives depended on it. To that extent maybe it mimics Suskind's novel, which by the way I hated, in part for that reason, but it also makes it hard as a viewer to attach to any character in the show - they are all wandering in a moral and emotional wilderness. I kept wondering if I was supposed to relate to Nadja as a 'wronged' character, a victim, but I'm sorry, don't shag you married superior, Nadja. It's not that hard. Maybe this is the underlying point about 'attachment disorder' - individuals have fractured attachments because they have been sent to boarding schools, or put in care, or have experienced childhood abuse, or have been prematurely exposed to adult sexuality, or have been in foster homes. So, yes, this was interesting and good to watch, but emotionally as bleak as the flat lower-Rhine landscapes over which the camera often lingers.
-
montse_altamirano14 February 2019I have to admit I was fascinated by the framing, color, composition and the great value of the locations. Every aspect made the story more compelling and thrilling. But to be honest the finale was too much of a coincidence. The story develops great at the beginning, with a group of characters that have to keep everything in secret because of their past. But the last two episodes that arc failed, it seemed like the killer got involved as a coincidence, it seemed like that person wasn't even involved, like if they got no other solution. Other than that the story is terribly Misogynist. Women letting men treat them like nothing through the whole movie, not empowering at all. All the women in the film were seen as weak, stupid and helpless.
-
timpeaks-144-7872705 January 2019There is still lots more story to tell with these damaged and amoral characters. One of the best shows I've watched in awhile.
-
DimitrisPassas-TapTheLine28 January 2019''Parfum'' is a German 6-part crime tv series, loosely based on Patrick Süskind's titular novel which also was adapted for the big screen by Tom Tykwer in 2006. This is a really abrasive show with the most unlikable characters ever presented on television. The story which, unlike the novel, takes place in 2018 when a series of bizarre, brutal murders bring young police officer Nadja Simon (portrayed impeccably by Friederike Becht) in town in order to investigate those crimes who seem to be connected with odors and aromas emanated from the human body. The narration unfolds in two different temporal dimensions, of the past and the present and the main characters are all connected by a common personal history, all being students in the same school in their youth. Each one has more than one skeletons in his closet and their secrets are revealed to the viewer in a rather slow tempo, culminating in the final episode where the murderer becomes known. I was surprised, as I guessed wrong on the identity of the killer and I found it to be a nice twist, something rare in the majority of the genre's tv shows, but what really sets apart ''Parfum'' from analogous attempts is its exceptional cinematography, a trademark as it seems of -almost- every German production, either on cinema or television. On the negative side, I would say that the story is a bit hard to digest, full of human depravity and wickedness and it's almost like the creators of the show are embracing a rather misanthropic view on the world and society. If you are ready for a tough viewing experience then ''Parfum'' will most likely remain in your memories for a long time. If not, better skip it.
-
poulomihari1 April 2019I would like to save your time. Don't watch this. The ending is just stupid. Like really stupid. The killer, is well, not any of the 5 main people, nor anyone in the cops. The killer is, just.... there, for the sake of being. Its like 36 China Town (Bollywood), or Quantico, if you get what I mean. The whole plot revolves around a murder, and a series of similar murders for a "perfume" that will make anyone fall in love with you. The bizzare ending is just aweful. Its like, they hadn't thought of who they want their killer to be and randomly assigned the killer's name by lucky draw. I was on the edge of my seat for 6 episodes. And when I finally thought they found the killer, it was someone else, with no arc what-so-ever. They hadn't shown anything about the killer's motives or desires, or even any hints so we could suspect them. Trying to be too smart, they just blowed up the whole series.
The characters were all flawed. The lead character was the last person I would care about. The ball-busting cop, Nadja Simone couldn't stand up to her boss, and rather followed around like a puppy. The women in the series were all disgusting, beginning with the main dead woman around whom the series revolves. She would have intercourse with all the boys in her friends group, taking part in orgies and stuff even as a teenager. She was nice though, especially with Butsche, the most tormented one. Butsche had disturbing childhood. His mother sexually abused him as a child, thanks to which he was abusive to every single woman that came in his life. A terrible brothel keeper, abusive to the core. He managed to get redemption though. The other girl/lady Elena, a super coward woman who lets everyone rape her for no reason. Her boyfriend and now husband Roman would abuse her as much he liked, and as usual blame her for making him do so. Don't know why she was like that, she would let Butsche rape her too and then go on to play the victim card. Mortiz the perfume maker was the prime suspect. But he too had no reason to kill anyone, given he could extract perfumes from people alive, as many times he wanted. He served as an encyclopedia of smells. The key reason of this perversion was the underlying mastery of making perfumes out of other people, then applying it to attract any person they love. Elena wanted a mother, so at the age of 13 she killed a boy, and gave his tissues to Mortiz so he could make an artificial scent of the boy. Thus the mother immideately felt something for Elena, and she adopted her. But don't get your hopes high. Elena is NOT the serial killer. She is neither the killer of these women, Katherina or the prostitute, or even the wheelchair lady. Elena will not be charged as she was a juvenile when she committed the crime.
Ah disgusting. At this point I lost hope in the series. I was like, I don't even care who the killer is. And when they revealed, it was all meh... And that is not even the end. The cop killed the killer so she could use the perfume and attract her.
It is not worth your time or energy. Apart from cinematography and background score, this series has nothing new to offer. Its a messed up series with no sense. -
iMaas5 January 2019Can't believe the low rating.
It's a beautifully made series. Quite interesting plot and storytelling based on an existing book theme. The cinematography is done very well. One of those series that resemble Sinner or True Detective, but have their own feel. After Dark, probably the best German serie I've seen. Go see for yourself. -
mozaikkurabiye12 June 2019Everything is perfect except that all the women portrayed as pitiful, needy and weak. I think it also discourages speaking up in case of violence or rape. There are many rape and physical violence scenes during the show, however perpetrators got no punishment whatsoever in the end.
-
I just didn't like the characters, I abhorred them. All of them had a dysfunctional childhood doing some really mean things. While I understand why the main lead was the way she was, she was shown so weak almost to the point of begging for love from a married man who well didn't seem to reciprocate her feelings. The other character was Elena, someone who let people walk all over her. Lastly the husband Roman, who continued to sleep with the victim to just satiate his ego. What a douchebag! Frankly didnt care about the other 3 characters. Loved the look and feel of the series but the storyline just went haywire towards the end as if they were in a hurry to finish off the series. Don't really care about any of the characters. Can be easily passed have better stuff to watch on Netflix.
-
quidje_hh6 January 2019I did not expect much and was surprised. Good story, which was perhaps even better implemented than the book adaptation. One is Patrick Süßkind, "The Perfume", the other "Perfume", a criminal story that takes up the perfume conclusively. Very atmospheric with charismatic actors.