What are the differences between Netflix’s The Perfumer and Perfume: the story of a killer

The film recently premiered on Netflix. ‘The perfumer’an extensive adaptation of the 1985 bestseller ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ by Patrick Süskind, also adapted for the big screen with the title of the same name in 2006. Since these are two different adaptations of the same novel, we will tell you what the differences are between them.

The novel ‘Perfume: the story of a murderer’ tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille who has a desire: it does not give off any smell. But at the same time he has an exceptional gift: a sense of smell that allows him to perceive any type of smell in the world. Over time he manages to become an acclaimed perfumer, but to get the fragrances he has to killing virgin women to get the smell of their bodies.

‘The perfumer’ and ‘The perfume’ have different differences, but they start from the same place

On the one hand, the 2006 film “Perfume: A Murderer’s Story”, co-produced between Germany, Spain and France, is an adaptation that seeks, as far as possible, stay true to the book Set in revolutionary France, it tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a serial killer with a prodigious sense of smell.

Gradually, the film shows us the life of the character, first showing us how he is sentenced to death in an hour, and then tells how Jean-Baptiste got there. This character was born in the worst of miseries, but gifted with an exceptional gift of smell. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille gradually grew to become a respected perfumer, who in order to get the scent of his fragrances, killed virgin women to extract the smell from their bodies.

On the other hand, the recent Netflix production “The Perfumer” is a free adaptation of Patrick Süskind’s book. Set in contemporary and in a police tonetells the story of Sunny, a detective who lost her sense of smell during her childhood and who follows the trail of a killer who removes the sweat glands, skin and hair of her victims.

Responsible for all this is Rex, a criminal who follows orders from Dorian, a perfume maker who tries to create an aroma capable of making anyone who smells love it. Although Sunny has to take it, she ends up collaborating with him to regain the sense of smell and affection of her lover.

There are many similar aspects between this film and the 2006 one, although they can be enjoyed separately. Being both adaptations of the same book from 1985, this latter Netflix production reshape the original storysetting it in modern times and developing it with detective genre tints.