Paprika

I saw this two days ago at the New York Film Festival.

The plot: What happens when we acquire technology that allows us to migrate the boundary between dreams & reality, and what happens when that boundary blurs?

The Animation: Stunning; Madhouse always does good work and Kon's movies always produce some fun reality bending sequences.

The Music: Susumu Hirasawa who did the Paranoia Agent soundtrack came up with the score here too. The opening song is a particularly infectious number. It makes you smiley. It's like the opening song from Paranoia Agent on steroids. I really could not get the grin off my face till the beginning sequence ended.

The Cast: The voice cast is headed by Megumi Hayashibara, probably the most prolific and well known female seiyuu ever, with roles such as Rei Ayanami (Evangelion), Lina Inverse (Slayers), and Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop) to her credit. Akio Ohtsuka and Koichi Yamadera, Batou & Togusa of Ghost in the Shell fame, both play major roles as well. All do a fabulous job as usual, but Hayashibara really shines in her Paprika role.

This film has great animation, music & actors, but the plot is really just a thin veneer for the lucid dreaming sequences that permeate so much of Satoshi Kon's work. I still recommend seeing it because it's a really light fun film, but I don't think it adds up to being more than the sum of some really great parts. I think this one needs to be enjoyed in pieces rather than as a whole.

Kon is renowned for his superb editing and wildly creative visuals in Paprika, but for what purpose? What remains when the visuals is eliminated from the equation? Paprika's tale had a painfully obvious twist near the conclusion, and its basic outline was rather shallow. Furthermore, an extraneous romantic element that was considerably less coherent than Kon's most bizarre vision. You're probably thinking, "It's all about the execution; as long as it's done well, who cares about a weak storyline?" Indeed, execution is more crucial than content, and a dull story can be made interesting by using bizarre images and inventive editing. Take Kon's earlier work, Millennium Actress, for instance.

I merely discussed the major plot; the detective's side story was, regrettably, far more intriguing. Here, the visual is used in a way that perfectly complements his tale and conflicts; it is executed similarly to Millennium Actress. When a side plot becomes more fascinating than the main narrative, though, something is off.

Characters are also pretty weak. The antagonist lacked depth and was terribly dull. I'm afraid I can't speak for the other actors in the cast. Furthermore, Atsuko's romantic evolution towards the end was so forced it was unreal. This baffled me more than any bizarre imagery Kon could conjure up, yet again. The only character in Paprika who came close to saving face was Konakawa, the investigator. He genuinely grew during the film and had a respectable amount of characterisation.

I'm not an expert in anime, nor have I seen a lot of this genre, but I utterly admire the immense creativity of people like Hayao Miyazaki ("Princess Mononoke", "Spirited Away"). Satoshi Kon's "Paprika" is a great example of anime at its finest. The movie is a sea of original ideas and a visual blast. Apparently, the plot is about the theft of a machine that allows scientists to enter and record people's dreams, and how a detective and a young therapist called Paprika join forces to get it back. But there is so much going on and so many smart innuendos (remember: this is Rated R anime, not "Ratatouille" - even though I think the R rating is just too much in this case) that "Paprika" becomes one of the most original adult animations in recent memory - superior to Richard Linklater's "Waking Life" and even "A Scanner Darkly", I dare to say. I won't give away anything because I don't want to spoil a single scene, but I'd say that I see it as a movie about the power of movies over our life/dreams, and about the love people like me have for the Seventh Art. I don't know if that was Kon's original idea and honestly I don't care - it's not every day that you find a movie that amuses and says something to you in such an unpretentious way. Whatever was Kon's original idea, I think that he got what he wanted: a movie that both entertains and makes you think. Simply fascinating. 10/10.

I have only seen this movie a few hours ago and am still stunned by simply how incredible it was. Who ever thought anime could be so fantastical? While the plot, at times confusing and going on the border of being a stereotypical anime, is terrific and i couldn't ask for it to be any better. Many reviewers condemned this film because of the randomness and lack of explanation for some parts, but i believe that Satoshi Kon did this on purpose. Kon simply made this movie like a dream; it is colorful, incredible, random, and offers scarce explanations. The film wants you to think about what the meaning of these "dreams" are, instead of telling you what the meaning is, much like what you would have to do with a real dream.

The best part of this film is that it can appeal to the non-anime fanatic crowd. I have seen all a few animes (only hayao miazaki films) so i wouldn't be called a true fan, and am not much into the science-fiction animes and what not that many people seem to love, yet i could not help but fall in love with Paprika.

Please, Please, PLEASE see this movie. Its too incredible to go under-appreciated by the world. Perhaps the best film of 2007, maybe one of the best from the past few years, if you see this movie you will NOT regret it.

I had gone into Paprika not knowing much of what to expect, save for the fact that it was an anime with quite a buzz. An hour and a half later, this is one of the best films I've seen in 2007.

The plot, as best as I can describe it, concerns a group of scientists developing a device which allows one to interject your subconscious into and record another person's dreams. However, a thief is using the technology to terrorize and control others. As the scientists try to find their stolen property, reality begins to take on a different meaning...

Satoshi Kon is filmmaker I've never heard of before, but what he has created is truly visionary. Paprika continually amazes with imagery which transcends conscious understanding and coherence for what can only make sense on a subliminal level. Examples include a marching band of inanimate objects, dolls and animals, a giant aquatic leviathan with a man's face and humanoid toys that act as vessels for their dreamers bodies.

But what makes the film necessary viewing is not the visuals alone, it's the core of the story and varied themes that it poses. The subject matter deals with issues both contemporary and probable. The actual identities of ourselves are wrapped in an enigma. How science has its positive and negative aspects. That the advantages of the internet is better communication but also dehumanization. I'm sure others will find other symbolism and subtext.

Wheather you're familiar with Japanese animation or not, Paprika will expose any newcomer to something foreign and deeply personal as well.