Directed by:
Satoshi KonCinematography:
Michiya KatouComposer:
Susumu HirasawaCast:
Megumi Hayashibara, Akio Ōtsuka, Hideyuki Tanaka, Kōichi Yamadera, Mitsuo Iwata, Satoshi Kon, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Daisuke Sakaguchi, 愛河里花子, Anri Katsu (more)VOD (2)
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The magical tale centers on a revolutionary machine that allows scientists to enter and record a subject's dream. After being stolen, a fearless detective and brilliant therapist join forces to recover the device before it falls into the hands of a dream terrorist. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (8)
A good film to watch before Nolan’s Inception, I think. It’s an Anime that operates with concepts such as different stages of dreaming and sleeping, implantation of dreams into other people's minds in the form of a terrorist act, the REM phenomenon, the thin line between dream and reality, etc. The result is very convoluted in plot, not so visually intoxicating in the first half, but the second half brings a literal explosion of visual imagination that makes this interesting fable worth an hour and a half of your time.
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Satoshi Kon's problem with Paprika is mainly that he's envious of his audience's work, so like a sulking little child he decides he's just going to get something out of it too and starts fiddling with the script. A script that, while appearing genuinely complex and Inception-like, helps itself move the plot along with basic screenwriting crutches (deus ex machina, lack of causality, terrible coincidences), which it masks with anarchic visuals and a theme of "where anything is possible". He simply decided to enjoy limitless dreaminess in his own way. The problem, then, may be for the viewer who approaches Paprika primarily as a film. On the other hand, he admits it himself; for example, the lines with the detective at the dawn of the big city, kissing a comely victim while clutching a six-shooter in the other hand are not just bullshit for the audience, but a real deliberate cathartic element. "We’ve got to go. The happy ending is getting closer." PS: Anyone who didn't sing at the end credits is a moron.
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Satoshi Kon created a machine worked out to the smallest detail in terms of animation, content and dramaturgy, and which towers high above other feature-length anime films, and not only those from the same year. In many respects, this sophisticatedly superficial thriller, which inundates and fully occupies the mind and the eyes for an hour and a half, is also the pinnacle of Kon’s filmography. His previous works are partially echoed in many of the plot and style motifs of Paprika, which can thus be fittingly described as the culmination of Kon’s creative career so far. We can only regret the fact that it remains his last completed work.
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The dream-like atmosphere is captured with (in)credible precision. Above all atmosphere is the best this piece can offer, because everything else is actually pretty regular. It’s a shame, that Paprika shoots almost all of it’s big guns in the phenomenal opening sequence and after that, it doesn’t come up with anything nearly as impressive. When you take into account how much more could be get out of the topic-matter, then the result seems a bit incomplete. But still it’s enough to make it an unusual and interesting experience. And all it would have taken is to drop that “ultra-villain" cliché, loosen the bridle on the imagination a bit more and then… Then the result could be one level better, especially with regard to the original book, which this adaptation, although similar in storyline, doesn’t have much in common with. Which is a shame specifically because it doesn’t suffer from the same flaws listed above. Although it’s true that the book doesn’t do so well at capturing the specific surreal reality of dreaming.
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Exactly according to the classic routine of Japanese anime; beautiful animation that gets repetitive at times and a story that is so interesting that it gets too complicated. But it’s definitely a movie worth watching and thinking about. But not to be too critical, I must say that the finale was excellent and the music was also very nice. Above-standard for a Japanese anime…
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Photo © Sony Pictures Classics
![Paprika - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/160/151/160151720_e0925b.jpg)
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