Cinema Scent: Under The Shadow (dir. Babak Anvari; 2016)
Persolaise 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…
film
Cinema Scent: The Graduate (dir. Mike Nichols; 1967)
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…
Non-Perfume Post: Dariush Alavi On BBC Radio 4 Film Programme
I hope you won’t mind my stepping away from the world of perfume for a moment to bring you some news about another creative field that is dear to my…
Getting It Wrong – When Perfume Criticism Loses Its Way
I’ve been meaning to raise this subject for a while. But it was only recently that an event crystallised my thoughts and convinced me it was time to put finger…
Persolaise Review: La Fin Du Monde from Etat Libre D’Orange (Quentin Bisch; 2013)
There are several reasons to be excited about La Fin Du Monde. Firstly, it’s this year’s only release from Etat Libre D’Orange, a house which consistently manages to combine quirkiness…
Who Do You Work For? – Thoughts On Blogs And Perfume Criticism
In his editorial in the current issue of Sight & Sound, Nick James considers recent developments in the world of film criticism. He explains that many newspapers have closed down…
Could Robert Pattinson Teach His Fans Some Manners, Please?
The Invasion Of The Day Job is being as invasive as ever, which is why any free time Madame Persolaise and I manage to find is precious. So we weren’t…
The Secret Is A Bit Less Secret + The Scent Of Oscar + Neela Vermeire Give-Away
Okay, this is going to be a long post, so you might want to grab a coffee before you settle down to read. I’ll wait here while you do that.…
Review: Smart, Craft & Sharp from Andrea Maack (2010)
There are some people out there who think that Gus Van Sant’s remake of Psycho is superior to Hitchcock’s original. Even though they fully understand that the newer version is…