Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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.

Bora Chung JasminumThe film is about love: primarily about love or love relationship between a man and a woman. The viewer is gradually introduced first to Patricia's unrequited love to the movie star, and as the story unfolds, also to Jasmina's tragic love story with one of the monks, and finally the unhappy love story of Natasza, the main character. And the movie is about love in a more general sense, or similar feelings between human beings: exemplified in the unusual friendship between the little girl Genia and Brat Zdrówko (Brother Sanitas), or Natasza's friendship with Patricia. Although the topic seems rather trite, "Jasminum" does a good job making it interesting by presenting it in the form of a fairytale for adults. The voice-over narration by a child and the waltz music mainly played by piano set the fairytale atmosphere. Jan Jakub Kolski, the director, obviously has a penchant for light, melodious but slightly sad waltz, as he made use of such music in his previous work "Pornografia (2003)." The difference is that in Pornografia the music is partially diegetic, while in "Jasminum" it is completely non-diegetic. This is because in "Pornografia" the music directly relates to the main character's tragic past. In "Jasminum," on the other hand, the waltz mostly accompanies the young narrator's voice-over, helping to set the atmosphere: tragicomic, sad and comforting at the same time. When doing so, the music also functions as a separator between stages of the plot development, or a symbolic "curtain" between "acts" of the film. As in "Pornografia," tragic love story and secrets from the past are important in Jasminum. The monastery itself holds a tragic love story from the past, and its spell still persists. The spatial setting of a monastery is quite adequate in this context because by definition the setting must separate men and women. Natasza, the altar-painting restorer and perfume maker on the side, turns out to have her own unhappy love story, no matter how absurd: a runaway bridegroom. Patricia, the hairdresser whom Natasza helps, has perhaps the most banal kind of sad love story: unrequited love towards a famous actor. The film, however, treats all of these love stories equally with "a sense of humor and attentiveness" as the director emphasizes in one of the interviews.The precocious narrator Genia is the only person who does not have a tragic love story hidden in the past for obvious reasons. Therefore her narration of the story is fairly objective, with her adorable dryness adding to the humorous aspect. In the end, however, Genia experiences her own version of a sad love story when she must leave Brat Zdrówko.The key to solving all the mysteries of love lies in finding the right aroma. The film is all about magical smell. This extraordinary idea also adds to the fairytale aspect of the film. The important fact is that Natasza's magic perfume works as a love potion only because the love is already there. She merely gives a little boost by caring and acting upon her sympathy. This leads to the final topic of the film: "saintliness," as the director comments.The film's message is that the most important thing between people is love and caring, and acting upon one's caring for another person. When the caring and acting reaches a certain level, it qualifies to be saintliness. The final scene, when Brat Zdrówko becomes a saint, confirms this idea. As the viewers saw in the film, Brat Zdrówko is the one who cares the most, even about the piglets; he is the one who acts the most to take care of the entire monastery, silently and inconspicuously. This final message is conveyed again with "a sense of humor and tender attentiveness" as Zdrówko complains he cannot light the stoves with the stigmata his hands.

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.

valar-4 It is doubtless thing - you will enjoy that movie much much more if you're Polish. It's obviously not as hermetic as i.e. "Mis", "Sexmisja", but you have to know/feel what's about countryside of Poland nowadays. Anyway, if you are familiar with "magical realism" (either "Chocolate" and "One Hundred Years of Solitude") then you will find yourself extremely happy. I did. And those fragrances.. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer will maybe hit the blockbuster, but I will still feel Yasminum... There are other Kolski's pictures, some of them I remember pretty well ("Jancio Wodnik", "Szabla dla komendanta") - Yasminum is their rightful successor.