Line #61 Film/Jasminum


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jasminum.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:320:[[CatchPhrase What are you wondering at?]]]]
3	Jaśminowo, a small town somewhere in Poland, has an old monastery, only housing five monks at the present: the prior Kleofas, who loves movies and is very intellectual, the cook Zdrówko and the three monks who inexplicably smell of flowers. It also has a fragrant ghost wandering its corridors. The paintings kept there are very beautiful, though, and interesting, and worth restoring by an expert. Father Kleofas claims it's unnecessary, since his calculations say a 16th century prophecy is about to be fulfilled - a saint shall arise in the monastery, and one of the signs of his coming will be that the paintings become bright and beautiful once more.
4
5	But his superiors send in somebody to restore them anyway. Her name is Natasza, and she arrives with her five-years old daughter Eugenia in tow, bringing lots and lots of glassware and expert knowledge - not just about art.
6
7	And she's going to gain some more knowledge, too, about herself, love and life.
8
9	A low-key, wistful movie for curling up with on a rainy afternoon, Jasminum has been written and directed by Jan Jakub Kolski and came out in 2006. Has one NotSafeForWork scene of [[spoiler: Patrycja and Zeman having sex]], which contrasts the whole thing strongly.
10	----
11	!!Jasminum contains the following tropes:
12	* AbhorrentAdmirer: The mayor of the town for Patrycja, since {{Irony}} is always interesting.
13	* AlchemyIsMagic: Natasza uses real chemical glassware and has some organic chemistry animations in her laptop (we don't know why), but the potions she makes are downright magical.
14	* AlmightyJanitor: Zdrówko is the monastery cook who [[BunnyEarsLawyer single-handedly keeps the others fed]] while they wait for the prophesied miracle and cultivate their [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} various quirks]].
15	* AmbiguousDisorder: Czeremcha is so absent-minded [[spoiler: he went to the wrong church all these years ago and decided to stay there as a monk instead of coming back to his fiance]].
16	* BrokenBird: Natasza is the stoic sort, although we learn of her DarkAndTroubledPast rather late in the movie.
17	* BreakUpBonfire: Natasza burned down her ''house'' after getting stood up at the altar by [[spoiler: Czeremcha]].
18	* CaptainObvious: "It's a duck, it has to shit."
19	* CharacterCatchphrase: Eugenia often says "Co się dziwisz?" [[labelnote:translation]]What are you wondering at?[[/labelnote]]
20	* ChickMagnet: Zeman, the actor (Bogusław Linda AdamWesting ''and'' PlayingAgainstType, as his usual fare is quite gritty) has quite a lot of fans.
21	* ChristianityIsCatholic: Set in a Polish small town (practically countryside) so, it's a given.
22	* ChurchOfSaintGenericus: The monks wear yellow habits, which aren't used by any RealLife order.
23	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When Zdrówko [[spoiler: gets stigmata in TheStinger]] he's horrified - that he won't be able to work in the kitchen anymore!
24	-->'''Zdrówko''' (speaking to a picture of Saint Roch): Are you crazy?
25	* CrypticConversation: Zdrówko can really beat around the bush when he wants to.
26	* DisappearedDad: Eugenia's dad is completely nonexistent in the movie (we meet her mom's OldFlame, but as he left her years before Eugenia was born, he can't be the dad).
27	* DoingInTheWizard: Kleofas criticises Natasza for trying to explain the brothers' powers scientifically, but at the same time he's conducting very minute observations of his saint candidates.
28	* DoNotCallMePaul: Mild. Eugenia dislikes diminutives of her name (she'll let her mom call her Genia, but prefers others not to).
29	* DreamWalker: Eugenia somehow ends up in Zdrówko's prophetic dream of Saint Roch - but since she's narrating, [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane maybe he just told her the funny dream he had]].
30	* ElectiveMute: The three prospective saints are monks who have taken vows of silence. [[spoiler: Czereśnia actually hasn't - he just had nothing to say.]] They all break them during the story.
31	* TheFashionista: Natasza's notable for dressing very colourfully.
32	* FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator: Little Eugenia, who doesn't really do much besides observing, being an ice-breaker with the monks and commenting the plot as wittily as her age allows.
33	* FlowerMotifs: Flowering trees the monks get their names from: śliwa (plum), czereśnia (wild cherry), czeremcha (bird cherry), [[spoiler: jaśmin (jasmine)]].
34	* ForeignLanguageTitle: "Jasminum" is Latin for "jasmine".
35	* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Brother [[spoiler:Zdrówko]], you're the real saint here."
36	* {{Forgiveness}}: [[spoiler: Natasza forgives Czeremcha in the end, and they decide they're BetterAsFriends]].
37	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Zdrówko, if he [[ServileSnarker grumbles about it]]. He feeds animals first, then men, then himself. His favourite saint for complaining to appears to be Roch, the PatronSaint of sick animals. Apart from him, Czeremcha keeps adorable fluffy ducklings, and Czereśnia takes such pains not to step on ants that he trips and drops a statue.
38	* GentleGiant: Czereśnia, who used to be a circus strongman.
39	* GhostlyGoals: [[spoiler: The [[StarCrossedLovers first Czeremcha and his jasmine-smelling lady]] want to be TogetherInDeath - so Natasza mixes their scents and Zdrówko pushes their coffins in the crypt together.]]
40	* GlamorousSingleMother: Natasza is doing really well for a single mom and artist.
41	* GoodBadGirl: Patrycja, who stars in the one [=NSFW=] scene this movie has.
42	* GorgeousPeriodDress: The ghost lady is rather opulently clothed.
43	* GothicHorror: Some decorations are very gothic, and there are ghosts, but that's really all.
44	* GratuitousItalian: Father Kleofas loves Italian movies and quotes them a lot.
45	* GratuitousLatin: Plot significant information is found in Latin inscriptions in the monastery. Natasza takes the hint, but Kleofas doesn't.
46	* HappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler: Zeman and Patrycja]].
47	* TheHermit: It's a sequestered monastery, which means a bunch of hermits living alongside each other.
48	* HiddenInPlainSight: [[spoiler: The prophesied saint in the monastery is Zdrówko, but father Kleofas ''really'' can't take a hint.]]
49	* IAmWho: The saint turns out to be the last person anyone would expect (in-universe). Least of all himself.
50	* ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin: Patrycja the hair-dresser is addicted to Czeremcha's love-inducing smell (she says it makes her a better person). Natasza wants to work out just why. [[spoiler: She gets over it after finding real love.]]
51	* IntergenerationalFriendship: Eugenia and Zdrówko.
52	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Natasza makes a perfume that causes people to forget. [[spoiler: She leaves a vial for Czeremcha.]]
53	* LegacyCharacter: To gain fragrance and holiness of the first three Śliwa, Czeremcha and Czereśnia, monks take up their names and come to their crypt to pray at their coffins (the three saints have died in sixteenth century). Natasza is dissappointed to find she can't get the heart of the fragrance there. [[spoiler: But she does find an important clue]].
54	* LogicalLatecomer: Natasza and her daughter. The monastery is rather unconventional (if perfectly sweet).
55	* TheLostLenore: Natasza, for [[spoiler: Czeremcha.]]
56	* LoveHungry: Patrycja, at least until she obtains some [[LovePotion love perfume]].
57	* LoveHurts: In many ways. But people [[BittersweetEnding get up afterwards]].
58	* LovePotion: Things that carry the smell of czeremcha [[spoiler: or jaśmin]] grant happiness in love, at least after Natasza's worked her magic. Unusually for the trope, the perfected love perfume works on both the wearer and the person the wearer wanted to seduce, producing reciprocated love.
59	* MagicalRealism: Apart from all the UsefulNotes/{{alchemy}}, [[spoiler: his [[PatronSaint favourite saint]] Roch makes an appearance to wash Zdrówko's feet, since he's a new saint]] - also to [[{{Bathos}} complain about birds pooping on his statue]]. Although this was AllJustADream. [[spoiler: But Zdrówko later gets ''stigmata'']], so the dream was prophetic at the very least.
60	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The paintings ''are'' restored - by completely mundane means, [[spoiler: before the prophecy does come true]].
61	* MundaneSolution: Natasza restores the paintings with chemicals (that's her job) and discusses with father Kleofas the relative virtues of this versus the miracle that would renew both the paintings and the people.
62	* MustHaveNicotine: Czeremcha displays rather unsaintlike greed in picking a cigarette stub lost by the chain-smoking Natasza. [[spoiler: Except, in a subversion of the trope, it turns out he's her ex-fiance (not Eugenia's father, judging by her age) who sort of walked out on her, but still loves her, [[TheLostLenore a lot]].]]
63	* NeverRecycleABuilding: The closed cinema remains a cinema, with all the things needed to show movies. [[spoiler: So Natasza and others can use it later for plot and for a private seanse of Kleofas's favourite movie.]]
64	* OneWordTitle
65	* OurGhostsAreDifferent: [[spoiler: Not very different, a fairly typical pair of StarCrossedLovers.]]
66	* OvercomplicatedMenuOrder: Eugenia is very exacting about how thick her bread is to be and how much butter she wants on it.
67	* PauperPatches: Zdrówko's old boots are as [[{{Pun}} holey]] as he is. After Eugenia gives him a new pair, he's not quite sure how he feels about it.
68	* ThePhilosopher: Father Kleofas. He argues that ScienceCannotComprehendPhlebotinum and is probably right.
69	* PortraitPaintingPeephole: Lots of small chinks that can be looked through - the monastery building is old.
70	* PowerFloats: Czeremcha does that, but he needs to concentrate very hard (Zdrówko takes advantage when he wants to [[MakesSenseInContext steal a duck]]).
71	* QuirkyTown: With an even quirkier monastery.
72	* RunawayBride: Or rather a Runaway Groom is how Natasza became BrokenBird. [[spoiler:Czeremcha left her standing at the altar. Her mother, who came from the hospital to her wedding, died a couple of days afterwards and Natasza was left on her own.]] He says it wasn't a case of cold feet, not entirely.
73	* ScienceIsUseless: PlayedWith. Father Kleofas uses scientific methods (calculations and tracking their movements) to determine which of the fragrant monks will be the saint - and he fails, but [[spoiler: only just - his chart, when held to sunlight against a particular Latin inscription, [[TheBookCipher highlights the words]] that name the saint as Sanitas - Zdrówko. Kleofas simply doesn't read it to the end]]. Meanwhile, Natasza does restore the paintings mundanely, but can't find what she needs to create the perfect LovePotion until [[spoiler: the StarCrossedLovers are reunited]]. So, while science isn't actually useless, there are things it just can't do.
74	* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Brother Zdrówko [[BerserkButton won't]] take money for the fragrant relics (coffee, tea, sugar and matches are another thing, but he has brothers to feed).
75	* ShownTheirWork: Natasza's lectures on perfumery are correct and plot-relevant. The Latin, on the other hand, could be better - ''sunt'' means "are", plural.
76	* SignatureScent: Czeremcha, Czereśnia and Śliwa smell like their respective flowers. [[spoiler: The girl's ghost smells like jasmine.]]
77	* SmallTowns
78	* SmartPeopleKnowLatin: Notably, father Kleofas never knew [[AlmightyJanitor Zdrówko]] spoke Latin (because [[ItSeemedTrivial he never said he did]]).
79	* StaircaseTumble: Natasza pushes Patrycja's [[DomesticAbuse abusive boyfriend]] downstairs after he hits Patrycja. That's how the ladies become [[OddFriendship friends]].
80	* StarCrossedLovers: ''Ille sunt domus, ego sum pectus, tu nos connectus'' [[labelnote:translation]]He is the house, I am the heart, you will connect us[[/labelnote]]. Natasza investigates and it turns out the first Czeremcha was [[spoiler:a rich nobleman's son [[UptownGirl in love]] with an ImpoverishedPatrician's daughter, which caused him to get LockedAwayInAMonastery. The girl's ghost is haunting the place to this day and smells of jasmine]]. In present day, there's [[PlotParallel also]] [[spoiler:her own almost-marriage with Czeremcha, years ago, whom she isn't [[WomanScorned really ready to forgive]] until the end of the movie.]]
81	* SwingLowSweetHarriet: In the vision Kleofas has of the 16th century pair of StarCrossedLovers, she's sitting on a swing (the [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane real swing that's been made for Eugenia by Zdrówko]]) and he's pushing her.
82	* TitleDrop: After Kleofas tells Natasza the local legend:
83	-->'''Father Kleofas''': It would make a good movie. It could be called... Jasminum?
84	* WomanScorned: [[spoiler:Natasza admits that her real reason for coming to Jaśminowo was to find and confront the man who left her at the altar - brother Czeremcha.]]
85	* WorkingClassHero: Zdrówko is a no-nonsense, practical guy who singlehandedly keeps the brothers from starving.
86	* YourFavourite: Brother Czereśnia will only be bribed by an antonówka ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonovka a variety of apple]]), although Zdrówko gives him a [=McIntosh=], much sweeter and easier to obtain if you don't have an orchard at your disposal, [[BlatantLies saying]] it's an antonówka, and Czereśnia takes it.

Context Film / Jasminum