O Perfume da Memória Movie Review

『A Symphony of Emotions: Two Women from Different Worlds, Love and Pain Intertwined』

🎥 Film Overview

🎬 Title: The Perfume of Memory (Original: O Perfume da Memória, 2016)
🌍 Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil
🎞️ Genre: Romance / Drama / Emotional Narrative
🗓️ Production: Oswaldo Montenegro, 2016 (Feature Film)
⏳ Runtime: approx. 90 minutes
📢 Director: Oswaldo Montenegro
🖋️ Screenplay: Oswaldo Montenegro
📺 Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, other VOD services

👩‍💼 Cast:
Amandha Monteiro – Laura
Kamila Pistori – Ana

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

🌙 Reason and Desire

The film focuses on two women from completely different lives whose encounter feels destined rather than coincidental, sharing a single transformative night together.

• Ana and Laura: Ana appears as if she knows poetry that Laura has never shared with anyone, introducing an element of Magical Realism. Through conversation, wine, and music, the two women engage in profound dialogue about "the nature of love," growing emotionally close very quickly.
• Themes: Choice and Sacrifice: The film explores the tension between reason and desire under the premise that "every choice is a sacrifice, and the greatest cost comes when choices are imposed." Their brief romance raises existential questions about whether to pursue stable life or embrace a new form of love.
• Music and Poetry: Reflecting the director’s background, the film uses Montenegro’s own narration and music to connect scenes, creating an experience that blends drama with poetic and musical theatricality.

🧙‍♀️ Fateful Encounter and Magical Intimacy

Their first meeting is depicted as more fated than random.

• Laura: Laura maintains a stable but unsatisfying relationship, feeling a profound thirst for true meaning and love. Her reason ties her to her existing life.
• Ana: Ana appears to understand Laura’s hidden poetry, embodying Laura’s latent desires and inner world. She acts as a catalyst for Laura’s impulsive longing.

Their intimacy develops rapidly through a “destiny-driven narrative”, bypassing gradual acquaintance and portraying them as soul companions from the start, sharing deep conversation and emotional resonance.

✨ Philosophical Dialogue and Emotional Rapids

Their interaction relies mainly on long, dense dialogues, transforming the relationship from a simple romance into a philosophical exploration of existence.

• Conflict between Reason and Desire: The two women debate and empathize over topics like "what is love," "choices and sacrifices in life," and "finding one’s true self." Laura represents stability, while Ana encourages her to break it and follow her desires. Their dialogue externalizes the internal struggle between reason and desire.

🤵‍♂️ Male Gaze and Narrative Limitations

Although the film depicts women-loving-women (WLW) relationships, the fact that it is directed by a man has generated critical debate.

• Dominant Male Narration: The film relies heavily on Montenegro’s philosophical voice-over. Critics argue that narrating the women’s intimate stories through a male perspective diminishes the autonomy and depth of the female characters, framing their relationship more as a universal notion of love defined by a man than an authentic WLW experience.
• Rapid Romance: Within a 72-minute runtime, the film compresses a fateful meeting, philosophical debates, and a love confession, making the relationship feel accelerated and underdeveloped. Despite narration claiming "instant affinity," viewers may still perceive them as strangers, limiting emotional immersion.
• Budgetary Constraints and Magical Realism Misuse: Most of the film occurs in a single interior space. Dream or fantasy sequences are inserted to evoke poetic or magical realism, but often appear as plot-filling devices without narrative necessity, weakening cohesion.

👩‍❤️‍👩 Advocating Inclusivity in Lesbian Narrative

The director describes the film as "a story about two women’s passion without forcing labels," arguing that love here transcends gender and is about "love as a verb."

• “Love as a Verb”: This approach can be seen as an attempt to universalize WLW relationships into human emotional experience. Some audiences may find this inclusive, while others criticize it for obscuring the distinct identity of lesbian romance. Queer viewers may feel discomfort that a male director attempts to frame queer relationships within a generalized “sanitized” perspective.

O Perfume da Memória stands out for its attempt to create a unique atmosphere with poetic and philosophical dialogue and soothing music. However, male-dominated narration, abruptly developed emotional arcs, and direction that fails to clearly communicate thematic intent leave the film somewhat incomplete. Unlike 1970s European soft-core cinema, this film attempts an intellectual approach but ultimately treats the complex theme of female love mainly through audiovisual devices.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Intimacy Level: ♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★