1. The film perfume intends to compare and contrast the different classes of the society at the time the movie is set. Jean-Baptiste's conditions as a peasant is overwhelmingly painful to watch. As a man of lower class, he undergoes and experiences tough conditions, and this is certainly portrayed in the movie. Another argument the movie conveys is that greed leads to rash and imprudent actions in order to attain excessive needs. After Jean smelled the powerful scent of a girl, he was utterly unconcerned about murdering girls in order to preserve their smell. Family, companion, or even just a guide is important for everyone. Jean lived a corrupted life in this whole movie and I think it was mainly due to the fact that he had no one who loved, taught, and cared for him.
2 & 3. The film easily portrays the different smell through the variation of color intensities. For instance, if Jean smells a pleasant smell, the object tends to have brighter colors, such as fruits, dresses, flowers, etc. Foul smells, such as fishes or the smell of a tired, laboring peasant, is portrayed with low intensities of color, usually brown, white, and mostly black. Imagery is also an important strategy in the movie especially when they try to portray harsh conditions compared to a town, such as Grassland, where everything looks beautiful and blooming. Music is also devised to convey viewers about the tough times the peasants undergo. When Jean smells an overwhelming pleasant smile, music becomes livelier instead of dreary.
4. One thing that I've noticed with Jean-Baptiste is that because he has no one, he lacks normal judgment. Also, with every person that Jean lives or provide for, they always end up dying through misfortunes. And usually before they die they usually encounter a time where they are overjoyed, either by relief or money. For instance, the lady in the orphanage, his master while preserving animal skin, and the perfume master all received some sort of money from him but then dies after Jean leaves. These events foreshadow the tragedies that Jean will commit with his strength of smell. Also, the events metaphorically compares perfume, after applying to oneself the smell makes a person happy but the smell does always disappear one way or another.
I agree that Jean-Baptiste does not have normal judgment because he never had the ability to form close relationships because others thought he was different. You have a good observation about the events of the movie metaphorically comparing with perfume. Perfume is only momentary, you cannot preserve it but for so long and it does eventually have to go away.
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