anhinnant I thoroughly enjoyed Jasminum. The film is beautifully set in a small Polish town—far, far away from the reality of urban Warsaw—where surreal elements come to life and peace of mind affords the characters a chance to reflect and search for what is missing in their lives.Nearly every character in this film is looking for something – namely, the missing pieces in their lives that could lead to fulfillment. The mother is trying to find the perfect mixture of scents, but also trying to find her own spirituality, which was destroyed twenty years ago when her fiancé left her at the alter and her mother died four days later. All of the monks have their own peculiar and personal mysteries to solve: the head monk wants to find the pattern in the movement of the monks; the care-taker monk/cook searches for meaning through St. Roch; the other monks in the monastery play lesser roles, yet despite providing comic relief, also are looking for something—meaning in life through meditation and prayer. Through loneliness and circumstance, both the hairdresser and small girl need love and caring from male figures, which, for different reasons, they lack in their lives.Jasminum then uses these discrete ingredients that each character offers (love, beauty, aroma, childhood innocence, and spiritual purity) to explore the nuanced area between black and white, science and spirit, or "the space between is and is not." Using the refurbished painting as a metaphor throughout the film, we see that chemistry and physics alone cannot produce a feeling or beauty. This theme is brought to the surface in the use of contrasts: for example, the old and somewhat stale male-dominated monastery contrasted with the vibrant small girl and her mom. Some of the missing ingredients that exist in the nuanced area are seen throughout the film: 1) the main character looking throughout the film for that missing part of her past, her ex-fiancé, 2) The hair dresser unable to find true love, despite her good looks and desire to do so, and 3) The care-taker monk/cook who needs something more in his life beyond spiritualism, which he clearly finds in the small visiting girl.Overall, I really liked this story and this film. The story was complex and slow to reveal itself, and even now I feel that there was plenty that I did not understand. The power of the mixed scent was on the borderline of being exaggerated to the point of distracting from the development of the film as a whole. In the end, however, there were enough ideas and character development, so that the aphrodisiac nature of the scent did not become too absurd, which, I felt was the downfall in magical-realistic movies of a similar genre, such as Chocolat.One thing I would have liked to see a bit more of were the three monks talking and interacting together. They seemed to have real chemistry together, breaking and explaining their vows of silence, for example, and they were a refreshing break from the seriousness of the other actors, including, strangely, the little girl who thought and behaved far beyond her years.

sdway Jasminum is a beautifully crafted film and a pleasure to watch. The relaxing pace of the movie is reminiscent of the pace of life within the monastery in which it takes place. A sense of mystery and a genuine fondness for the characters, particularly Brother Salinas and the young Genie, make this movie interesting to watch. With the exception of a few scenes, the majority of the movie takes place in a small monastery, but the mystery surrounding the monastery as well as the actions of its inhabitants keep the viewer compelled throughout.Besides the prior Kleophas and the cook Salinas, there are three other monks in the monastery- Birdcherry, Plum and Sweetcherry- who are sequestered and silent. These three produce extremely desirable body odors, which Fr. Kleophas and the surrounding community regard as a miracle. The initial scene of the movie depicts the reception of the monks' dead bodies into the monastery -- five hundred years ago. This, along with Fr. Kleophas' belief in the coming fulfillment of a prophecy made by the apostle Barnabas, and the repeated appearance of a ghost around the monastery grounds, adds to the sense of mystery that keeps the audience captivated. Kleophas believes that the three odiferous monks are on their way to sainthood, a status that requires the performance of a miracle, but are their miracles for real? Are the brothers somehow reincarnations of their 16th century namesakes? What is the significance of the prophecy, and what secrets does the monastery hold? The issue of science versus faith is an important theme in the movie. The chemist and art restorator Natasha is working to restore a painting that Fr. Kleophas believed would be restored by a miracle, and is able to accomplish what no miracle had. In this sense, science is victorious, but Fr. Kleophas wonders what good a chemically restored painting is. Only a painting restored by a miracle would truly enhance the prayers of the faithful. Natasha seeks also to reproduce the scents of the brothers chemically. Her first attempt recreates Birdcherry's scent, but something is missing and the perfume is a failure. Eventually, she finds the missing ingredient Jasmine, which when mixed with Birdcherry's scent produces an odor Natasha calls "oblivion." The hairdresser Patricia then uses this scent to seduce the object of her affection. However, the seduced man cannot figure out why he is in love; he only recognizes an obsession that seems to be driving him mad, which leads to another theme of the movie: the search for happiness. Patricia believes that possession of Birdcherry's scent will lead to her happiness, because it will cause the actor to fall in love with her, but in reality he is only in love with the scent itself, which will eventually fade or run out. This raises the question of whether one really knows what one wants. Does the actor really want Patricia, or does he want her smell? Does Patricia really want the actor, of whom she knows very little, or does she want merely to be desired? Meanwhile the relationship between Sanitas and Genie exemplifies a healthier type of love, a caring reciprocating relationship where each member cares for the well being of the other.The theme of science versus faith is a very timely one, particularly in Poland. Perhaps no other country besides Ireland stands out so much as the Church's last European stronghold of the faithful. Science is a wonderful and even miraculous thing, but faith is mysterious. As rational human beings, we are inclined to accept that which can be explained to us, but faith is required because we can never completely understand the deepest, most personal mysteries of the human experience. Jasminum was very interesting and thought provoking, and anyone interested in the themes of faith and happiness will find it very enjoyable.

zlorgle The film Jasminum made both positive and negative impressions, but overall was enjoyable to watch. The production is aesthetically very good, with attractive settings, music, and characters. It was often difficult to figure out what was happening and why, however, and the film's final message was somewhat ambiguous. Kolski's habitual style of "magical realism" was evident throughout the film, affecting the director's development of characters and backgrounds as well as theme.The fairy-tale-like atmosphere of this film entailed the use of characters who lacked any particular depth. Kolski's story did not delve much into the personal thoughts and developments of any individuals, focusing rather on their interactions as symbolic types. Most characters were used to represent particular feelings or aspects of the human character; they were symbolic types rather than developing beings. Patricia, the blond hairdresser, was portrayed as a somewhat shallow woman desperate for a partner, Sanitas as a monk simply following his orders and duty, and even Natasha's inner troubles were probed very little. The Father, also, did not act his part with any particular religious inspiration; nor did either of the brothers who were there together with Birdcherry.The monastic setting, too, seemed chosen primarily for its archaic and magical appeal, for the film was surprisingly devoid of religious expression given its overt placement in a monastery. This could be the director's active judgment on the worth of monastic life (as is hinted when all three of the brothers come out of their silence and admit they don't really know what they're doing there), but it is more likely that the monastery is simply used as a nice background for the various love stories with little religious connotation.These outward symbols clearly designate Jasminum as a fairy tale, but what the tale is actually about is more difficult to say. Part of what keeps the film interesting is that the viewer spends a good deal of time trying to figure out the plot and understand the message. One of the film's major themes was clearly related to love. Just what Kolski was trying to say about love was not entirely obvious, however, or at least one hopes that he had some deeper thoughts about love than those that came out most strongly. The intertwining of the ghostly Jasmine's love story with numerous subplots, her involvement with the monastery since its beginnings, and the sainting of Sanitas after he brought about her reunion with her lover all point to the centrality of her theme in which lovers are united despite great obstacles. The story of Patricia's infatuation with her actor was introduced rather late in the film, yet had become one of the central subplots by the end. In a sense her story is the central one, representing the triumph of love (so-called) that so many other characters desire. As such, Kolski paints a rather depressing picture of love. The actor, who was portrayed as a rude and unpleasant man, suddenly fell madly in love with the hairdresser after being exposed to the right perfume. Rather than treating this as a shallow love or allowing Patricia any sort of realizations about her lover's nature, the director uses the story of their union to parallel the true love epitomized in the "reunion" of the bodies of Jasmine and the original Birdcherry.While Brother Sanitas was portrayed as a good man, it was somewhat unclear why he was chosen to become a saint. Since general goodness did not seem to be valued so highly in this film as love, it seems likely that he was made a saint for his role in leading Natasha to Jasmine's body and thus causing the two dead lovers to be reunited.The best thing about this film in my opinion was its aesthetics: beautiful music, idyllic setting, and attractive characters. These traits make it appealing to audiences who enjoy a film as an artistic experience. The somewhat difficult plot may discourage viewers who don't want to expend a lot of effort to follow it. If one takes Jasminum's theme of love too seriously, it may come across as disappointingly fatalistic and shallow. Kolski's film is best appreciated as a fairy tale.

asia1906 Kolski at his finest! it truly is a beautiful and heart warming story. I strongly recommend watching it to all you people who enjoy good stories, beautiful scenery and amazing light. Great Polish actors and of course- the little girl who, in my opinion, did a very good job-so natural and so cute! Grazyna Kolska, Janusz Gajos, Adam Ferency, Boguslaw Linda. If you know and respect them, you won't be disappointed, I guarantee. The title is Jasminum and you can almost smell all the fragrances throughout the whole movie.I went to see the movie with my girlfriend, not actually knowing the plot line or anything and we were both speechless after the show. Go see it, even if you are not Polish-this is just a truly beautiful picture.