Nose Film Review (dir. Clement Beauvais; 2021)
Nose perfume documentary review by award-winning writer Persolaise (2021)
Nose perfume documentary review by award-winning writer Persolaise (2021)
Award-winning perfume critic, Persolaise, writes on scent and film in The Scented Letter (2019, cinema, fragrance)
Dariush Alavi writes on Three Colours White (Krzysztof Kieslowki) in Sight & Sound film magazine (movie, cinema, Persolaise, 2019, Trois Couleurs Blanc)
Time to dig out your annotated T S Eliot and stick on a bit of Wagner, because my latest contribution to BBC Radio 4’s Film Programme, presented by Francine Stock,…
Here we go again: same voice, same station, same idea. Only this time, something’s different. At first, I couldn’t figure out what it was, but then it hit me. Right…
For the latest instalment of my occasional contributions to Francine Stock’s Film Programme on BBC Radio 4, I turned to what is perhaps the most obvious entry in cinema’s olfactory…
Cinema Scent is back on BBC Radio 4’s Film Programme tomorrow (Thursday 1st Feb) at 4 pm (UK time) and in this episode, the movie I’ve chosen takes us to…
A part of me wants to say that the makers of Marjorie Prime missed a trick, but I realise that would just be a case of giving into churlishness. Because…
I’ve long considered The Silence Of The Lambs to be one of the most pungent films I’ve ever seen, which is why I was so excited to discuss it on…
Did someone say Yardley? During a key sequence in Battle Of The Sexes – a well-constructed account not just of Billie Jean King’s match against Bobby Riggs, but also of…
Tighten that corset and sweep all that lust under the silk rug. For my latest segment on Francine Stock’s Film Programme on BBC Radio 4, I’m delving into the extravagant…
Regular readers will know that in recent weeks, I’ve started writing about the relatively unexplored space where the worlds of scent and cinema meet. Well, I am thrilled to announce…
The layer of scent that is forever hovering a few inches above the surface of Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting (still his best work, arguably) is almost unremittingly scatological. Based on the…
Despite the dubious gender politics, the self-important pace and the portentous hamminess of Jared Leto, it would be churlish to deny that Blade Runner 2049 provides much to enjoy and…
There had to be at least one mention of it. About two-thirds of the way through Kathryn Bigelow’s gut-punching Detroit – an account of the horrific events which took place…
It’s been a while since I watched a film quite as pungent as this one: from the moment it begins, Francis Lee’s moving and well-observed God’s Own Country reeks of…
Watching Babak Anvari’s superb Under The Shadow reminded me that, more often than not, the way film-makers choose to depict smell is by showing their characters’ reactions to it. Eyes…
What’s the smell of disillusionment? According to Mike Nichols’ The Graduate – currently enjoying a 50th anniversary, big-screen re-release – it’s cigarette smoke and whisky on ice. The film’s most…