Back to trending
The Perfume of the Lady in Black

The Perfume of the Lady in Black

Comedy · 2005

Newly married, Mathilde and Robert are honeymooning at a resort owned by their friends Edith and Arthur, the Chateau d'Hercule. But an unpleasant shock is in store for them.

Movie details

The Perfume of the Lady in Black

2005 Comedy 1h 55m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

5.6 / 10

653 votes

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Newly married, Mathilde and Robert are honeymooning at a resort owned by their friends Edith and Arthur, the Chateau d'Hercule. But an unpleasant shock is in store for them.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Perfume of the Lady in Black?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Employee of the Month

Employee of the Month

Comedy · 2022

Vincent, a civil servant, has always enjoyed the benefits of his family's status. When the government votes on a massive savings plan, Vincent is pushed out. When he is transferred to the North Pole, he meets Eva and finds love. It's time for him to choose.

My Dog Stupid

My Dog Stupid

Comedy · 2019

Henri is a middle-aged writer with fading inspiration who has published nothing worthy of note in years. Feeling increasingly misunderstood by his wife and four grown up deadbeat kids, he dreams of running away to start over again. Yet when he discovers an unattractive, bad-mannered dog in his garden, he decides to adopt him and both start developing an unexpected friendship that inevitably upsets Henri’s family and neighbors.

The French Minister

The French Minister

Comedy · 2013

Alexandre Taillard de Vorms is a force to be reckoned with. With his silver mane and tanned, athletic body, he stalks the world stage as Minister of Foreign Affairs for France, waging his own war backed up by the holy trinity of diplomatic concepts: legitimacy, lucidity, and efficacy. Enter Arthur Vlaminck. Hired to write the minister's speeches, Arthur must contend with the sensibilities of his boss and the dirty dealings within the Quai d'Orsay, the ministry's home.

Marry Me, Dude

Marry Me, Dude

Comedy · 2017

Yassine asks his best friend Fred to marry him in order to avoid deportation...

Mammuth

Mammuth

Comedy · 2010

Serge Pilardosse has just turned 60. He has worked since the age of 16, never unemployed, never sick. But the hour of retirement has come, and it is disillusionment: he is missing points, some employers having forgotten to declare it! Pushed by Catherine, his wife, he gets on his old motorcycle from the 70s, a "Mammut" which earned him his nickname, and sets off in search of his pay slips. During his journey, he rediscovers his past and his quest for administrative documents soon becomes incidental...

Good Vibes Only

Good Vibes Only

Comedy · 2026

Based on the true story of a married couple who invented a groundbreaking sex toy heralded as forever changing the way women experience pleasure.

It Boy

It Boy

Comedy · 2013

38-year-old Alice has everything to become the next editor-in-chief of Rebelle magazine except for her uptight image. But when the young and charming Balthazar, barely 20, crosses Alice's path, she realizes that he holds the key to her promotion.

We Will All Meet in Paradise

We Will All Meet in Paradise

Comedy · 1977

Having fortuitously discovered a photograph in which Marthe embraces someone unknown, Étienne Dorsay becomes jealous and imagines various stratagems to identify the lover. In the meantime, he and his friends acquire a weekend house for a very low price.

Comédie-Française

Comédie-Française

Comedy · 2026

At the Comédie-Française, there is one golden rule: the play is never canceled. Unfortunately for Nina, everything else is—just three hours before the premiere of her first staging. An actor is stuck on a train, tensions explode, equipment breaks down, egos clash, and panic sets in. With no way out and time slipping away, Nina must hold the show together at all costs. Will she make it until the curtain rises?

Incorrigible

Incorrigible

Comedy · 1975

Victor Vautier is incorrigible: he's in constant motion, working several cons at once, using different names and changing disguises. He's charming and outrageous, incapable of uttering a sentence that isn't embellished or an outright lie. His life goal is to make enough money to build a sea wall to protect Mont-Saint-Michel. Charlotte, a parole officer, shows up: she's young and seems taken in by Victor. He discovers she lives above the Senlus Museum, where her parents are the curators. With two pals he decides to steal a priceless El Greco triptych and then ransom it back to the cultural ministry. What will Charlotte do when she realizes he's used her to make a fortune?

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Bruno Podalydès

Written by

Bruno Podalydès

Denis Podalydès

Denis Podalydès

Joseph "Rouletabille" Joséphin

Jean-Noël Brouté

Jean-Noël Brouté

Sainclair

Sabine Azéma

Sabine Azéma

Mathilde Stangerson

Olivier Gourmet

Olivier Gourmet

Robert Darzac

Zabou Breitman

Zabou Breitman

Edith Rance

Michael Lonsdale

Michael Lonsdale

Professor Stangerson

Pierre Arditi

Pierre Arditi

Frédéric Larsan / Ballmeyer / Naja Bey

Court is in session

Put The Perfume of the Lady in Black on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.