In 1985, German writer Patrick Suskind published the novel “Perfume” – a work that brought him worldwide fame. Publishers have sold over 12 million books in 46 languages. Such fame did not go unnoticed in the world of cinema, but for many years Suskind refused any proposals for a film adaptation. Only producer Bernd Eichinger was able to persuade the writer. This happened in 2001. The issue price was 10 million euros. Five years later, the film “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” was released. It became the most expensive in the history of German cinema. The film’s budget exceeded 60 million euros, but all costs were paid off. The film was successful.
In addition to interesting plot twists and famous actors, the film was remembered by viewers for its perfectly recreated atmosphere of the 18th century: dark and dirty streets, the simple life of artisans, the gloss of the French aristocracy. Surprisingly, most of the scenes were not filmed in France, the country the novel is about. Those moments when Grenouille served in the workshops of Baldini and Madame Arnulfi were created in Munich, and all the city’s scenery was carefully selected in Spain. In addition to Barcelona, filming took place in Girona, Figueres, Tamarit, Tortosa, Besalú and Cantaiops. But today we will tell you specifically about the capital of Catalonia, where key scenes of the film were filmed.
For 29 days, the film crew transformed Barcelona into Paris and the city of Grasse. The narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter were best suited for this purpose, but even they needed a light “makeup”. Thanks to the assistance of the mayor of Barcelona, Joan Clos, the creators of the film found a compromise with local residents and shop owners. At night, decorators “made up” the streets: they placed props, installed scenery, hid wires and “aged” walls, windows and shop windows, and early in the morning the actors came to this site and the filming process began.
Fish Market of Paris – Place La Merce (on the map)
Grenouille was born and died here. In the film, this place was shown in such a way that no one in their right mind would ever want to visit it: the stench, decaying rotten fish, merchants in dirty clothes and petty scammers all around. In fact, La Merce Square is a cozy place in the center of Barcelona. How was it possible to achieve such an amazing transformation?
Only 4 hours a day were allotted for filming. So for several days in a row, from 8 am to 12 noon, work was in full swing here. First, the decorators transformed the area: they scattered garbage and dead fish, then they installed props. The director followed and checked whether the “market” looked dirty enough. Only after that they released the actors and began filming. In total, more than 2.5 tons of dead fish were thrown into La Merce Square. Just imagine the aroma there!
The street where Grenouille discovers the world of smells – Rue Ferrand (on the map)
In the film, Jean-Baptiste ends up here when a leather tanner takes him to the city center for the first time. Grenouille is surrounded by dozens of new aromas: the smell of baked bread, seasonings, women and the perfume “Cupid and Psyche”. To film the scene, the entire street had to be blocked off. They did this on Sunday from 6:30 to 12:30 in order to cause as little inconvenience as possible to residents and traders. Decorators worked all night, removing and masking all the modern elements of the facades. They even hastily laid paving stones on the sidewalk and roadway, which resembled those in Paris.
Pelissier’s perfume shop – Herboristeria del Rei shop on the Royal Square (on the map)
Driven by the scent of a woman, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille emerges from one of the gloomy streets of the Gothic Quarter directly onto the Place Royale. You will recognize it by its characteristic arches. Having walked further, the main character stops in front of a glowing display window of a perfume shop. In real life, this is a herbal store – one of the oldest in the city. It has been operating since 1923. Now you can buy medicinal tinctures, dietary supplements and natural cosmetics here.
Place of the first murder – San Filippo Neri Square (on the map)
The square in front of the temple, where Grenouille killed the girl with yellow plums, was lost in the depths of the Gothic Quarter. It completely retained its ancient appearance, so the decorators had little work to do, but another problem arose – heavy rain. Because of it, over the entire area, fortunately it is not very large, it was necessary to pull an awning, otherwise filming would have to be stopped.
The temple where the priest finds the girl’s body – Church of Saints Justus and Pastor (on the map)
This scene was assembled from three different shots. The facade of the temple where the body was found was filmed in Girona, since the original appearance of the Church of Saints Justus and Pastor did not impress the film director. The interior of the temple was left as is, but the naked girl was filmed separately and inserted into the frame using editing. This was done in order not to offend the feelings of believers.
The labyrinth where the killer was waiting for Laura – Orta Labyrinth Park (on the map)
While the guests of Laura, the last victim of the perfumer, were playing hide and seek, the killer was waiting for the unsuspecting girl in the green thickets. The park of the estate of Marquis Joan Antoani Desvalls and d’Arden, laid out in the 18th century, acted as a labyrinth. It is located closer to the outskirts of the city, so many tourists simply do not get here. But in vain! Here you can walk in the shade of cypress trees, solve the labyrinth and just relax, admiring the beautiful marble statues.
The square where the execution and orgy took place – Plaza Mayor in the Spanish Village Museum (on the map)
After all the crimes, the main character was supposed to be executed in this square, but Jean-Baptiste turned out to be more cunning and used his secret weapon – a bottle of perfume. What happened next, you remember – hundreds of naked people intertwined with each other in a variety of combinations. It took exactly a month to prepare the stage. That’s how long it took to stage the performances of 800 extras. The shooting took one week. To do this, it was necessary to temporarily close the open-air museum “Spanish Village”, where more than a century ago, for the 1929 World Exhibition, the Catalan authorities recreated several typical Spanish architectural buildings, linking them into a single ensemble.
Getting to Barcelona in order to find yourself on the set of the legendary film is not difficult. There are regular direct flights from Russian cities to the capital of Catalonia. Ticket prices start from 3,500 rubles, and travel time will be about 5 hours.
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