Sehnsucht: A perfume-scented musical from a different era

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school musical comedies and don't mind black-and-white films that feel like a stage play, you'll probably have a decent time with this. If you need pacing that matches modern blockbusters or hate characters making questionable decisions over a bottle of perfume, stay away. It’s a very specific kind of mood.

Honestly, the whole setup feels like a classic screwball comedy mistake. The way these two women mix up their mail is so flimsy, yet the movie leans into it so hard you just sort of roll with it. It’s not exactly The Return of Sherlock Holmes when it comes to plotting, but that’s fine. It’s not trying to be.

Vienna, Perfume, and Chaos

There’s a lot of running around in this movie. The perfume company, Sehnsucht, acts as this weird magnet for all the characters. It’s funny how a product name becomes the entire emotional core of the film. You can almost smell the old theater air while watching these scenes.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Sehnsucht 202 (1932) through its definitive frames.

The musical numbers are... well, they're there. They don't quite have the polish of later Hollywood stuff, but there’s a certain earnestness to them. It feels like the actors are having more fun than the script actually requires. There's one moment where someone is singing while looking at a shelf of perfume bottles, and it goes on just long enough to make you giggle at how absurd it is.

• The confusion over the newspaper ads is classic, but it moves fast.
• The dialogue feels like it was written for a stage, which makes sense given the era.
• I spent most of the time wondering if the actors were actually enjoying the perfume or if it was just painted water.

It’s not as dark as something like Le château de la mort lente, that's for sure. It’s just light, airy, and very Viennese. Sometimes you just need a movie where the biggest problem is a switched letter.

I found myself zoning out a bit during the mid-section, mostly because the film starts repeating the same gag about the directors' intentions. It’s a bit like The Clown in terms of its theatrical energy, but it lacks that same punch. Still, it kept me watching until the end, which is more than I can say for some other stuff I've been catching lately.

Overall, it’s a sweet, slightly dated look at romance. It’s not going to change your life, but it won't hurt to have it on in the background while you fold laundry. 🧴🎶