Film #85: THE PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK

The Perfume Of The Lady In Black
3 out of 5 stars
A film that is sometimes lumped into the giallo sub-genre, but is anything but. In fact, it more akin to the “woman going quietly insane” (ala Polanski’s REPULSION), “supernatural coven out to manipulate innocent” (ala ROSEMARY’S BABY) or “woman with a past gets just desserts” (pun intended) sort of thing. Mimsy Farmer (FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET) is beautiful and manages to pull off the slow unwinding necessary for her character. But it is the look of the film that makes this one so special. Beautiful colors, exquisite set pieces, and the gut-punch of violence at the end makes this one worth checking out. Sadly though, in an effort to make the story mysterious, the narrative veers wildly and can be slow (even tedious) at times. Well worth watching as long as you’re prepared for the shifts between the wildly inventive and beautiful and the slow and sort of plodding. 

Full Film: