But things take a left turn when he accidentally kills a girl. He is so taken with the experience - and the aroma of her body - that the rest of his life becomes an insane quest to kill young women and distill their essences into the world's most seductive perfume. Grenouille decamps to the Provence town of Grasse, the perfume capital of the world, where he becomes obsessed with the aroma of a local French beauty, the beautiful Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood), beloved daughter of a French noble (Alan Rickman).

The spicy plot conventions are left behind for the movie's preposterous finale, which - although taken from the book - seems perhaps unbelievably ridiculous onscreen; even so, the boldness of "Perfume" is liable to stick with the viewer for some time. Using striking visuals to cue olfactory impressions, Tykwer tosses us blood, guts, vomit, maggots, days-old fish and even oxcarts brimming with rose petals. Certain sections of the film look as though they were pulled from art gallery walls.

Tykwer's crazy, gorgeous and disturbing film is indeed an insane brand of storytelling, making "Perfume" a compelling view, but a depraved protagonist and distasteful plot give the film an overall foul taste.