Passion can elevate a person to the throne of gods. If one remains true to their passion, then gradually, by transcending themselves, they eventually rise to a level above the ordinary people of the world around them. But when one becomes blind to passion, it only multiplies suffering. Sometimes pure passion can even cause the spiritual death of a person.
The word ‘passion’ derives from the Latin ‘passio,’ meaning ‘suffering.’ We see that for some, through continuous practice, the marriage of skill and talent with fidelity to passion reaches such a stage where the person no longer guides passion—passion guides the person, making them do many things that are abnormal, harmful, and self-serving. At such times, the artist, in the name of art, finds nothing they cannot do. Such work often transcends all boundaries of our understanding and reaches the pinnacle of degradation. Of course, this matters little to the artist. Even at the cost of the entire world, the excellence of art is all they desire!
Some art grows like a parasite, or more precisely, some artists allow art to grow parasitically. Such growth is reckless, frenzied, senseless. Such art gives glory to the artist but brings shame to the world. Life, love, romance, peace, well-being—such art destroys everything!
The tale of creation that destroys its own creator is ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.’ Even upon reaching the pinnacle of dreams, art’s demonic hunger keeps the artist unsatisfied. The movie’s protagonist wanted the entire world to love him, respect him, worship him as God… even those who despised him! And he achieved just that. In achieving this, he became as inhuman as humanly possible. Yet in truth, he gained nothing.
A creator who loves their creation more than themselves may perhaps succeed, but fulfill themselves? Never! We witness this in the movie’s perfumer as well. Most importantly, art whose greatness depends not on the artist’s soul but on the artist’s object may mesmerize people momentarily, but it plunges the artist into such an identity crisis that is as merciless as death.
The movie’s plot is flawed and erratic in many places. Like MacGyver’s tricks, everything needed is conveniently at hand, and through some inexplicable gesture, even the environment becomes favorable! We see the same with this movie’s serial killer Grenouille. Any sensitive viewer can easily notice this slackness. However the movie may seem, one cannot stop watching without finishing it. After viewing the entire film, it feels as though director Tom Tykwer has presented us with the life of a cursed superhuman whose power’s impact has dissolved all love, hope, aspirations, and humanity.