Les parfums

The story of a friendship between a selfish fragrance designer who is one of the best in her field, and her chauffeur who needs to cling to his job so that he can live with his daughter. There are no surprises or twists in the film, and everything falls into place where you expect it to. Even so, the chemistry between the two lead actors is so great that these cliches seem acceptable. A refreshing French comedy with a few laughs.

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 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.

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.

In French with subtitles.

Lovely film about a famous French "nose" (Emmanuelle Devos) who can discern a huge variety of smells, making her perfect in the perfume industry.

She hires a driver, Guillaume (Gregory Montel) who is trying to improve his living situation so he can have his young daughter with him. He is desperate to keep his job, but Anne's demands rub him the wrong way. However, he is able to stand up to her, which not many do. The two develop a close bond.

When she loses her sense of smell, Guillaume is there for her during her struggle to regain it.

Very sweet film with excellent performances.