Emmanuelle Devos

Cinema Wednesdays - Jonas Follonier

Anne Alberg (Emmanuelle Devos) is what we call a «nose». Her job is to smell scents and create perfumes. In the past, perfumes in the literal sense of the word, eau-de-toilette. Dior's «J'adore», that's her. But that was before. Before she lost her sense of smell. Anosmia is an all-too-familiar phenomenon, and it's interesting to see it make its way into a film plot. It's not the most important part of the story, and this subtly introduced fact serves the real purpose of the film: the world of scents, of smells, of the shapeless reality that tickles our nostrils and what's in them. Les parfums is above all about the relationship that develops between this haughty lady and her new chauffeur, Guillaume (Gregory Montel), a slightly awkward but brave fellow.