Movie Review: Paprika

Starring:
Megumi Hayashibara, Toru Furuya, Akio Otsuka, Katsunosuke Hori, Koichi Yamadera, Toru Emori

Director:
Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers)

Release Date:
November 2006

Synopsis:
Reality and the dream world are on a collision course after an experimental device that can record dreams is stolen from a psychiatric research facility. When the culprit begins intertwining the patients' nightmares with the staff's dreams, it's clear that the device has fallen into dangerous hands. Can Dr. Chiba Atsuko and her alter ego, a sprightly avatar named Paprika, stop the madness?

My Two Cents:
The reason I enjoy anime so much is because the Japanese writers and artists are not afraid of producing complex, state-of-the-art animated movies targeted for adults. When was the last time you saw an R-rated Disney movie? While Japan gets Akira and Ghost in the Shell we keep getting kiddy stuff like FernGully and Rugrats in Paris. Someone not used to anime or who has only watched Pokémon might find Paprika to be a complete mess of incoherent images and events. But if that’s the case then you should definitely limit yourself to shows with yellow electric rats.

As mentioned above in the synopsis, someone has stolen a few devices called DC Minis that let the user watch and even enter the dreams of their subjects. Dreams can also be recorded on film for further research. These devices were created by morbidly obese genius Tokita Kohsaku for the purpose of helping people with anxiety disorders and other psychological problems. Doctors Chiba Atsuko and Osanai Morio, along with Tokita, are sent by the research facility’s chairman, Inui Sei-jiroh, to find who the thief is and recover the DC Minis. Detective Kogawa Toshimi, one of the few people to go under the DC Mini treatment, lends the doctors a hand, but his main objective is to find the killer of a young man and to solve the mysteries behind his own disturbing nightmares.

During Detective Kogawa’s dream analysis sessions he is aided by Dr. Chiba, a woman with a stern and cold personality, who is the best dream shrink. In the dream world her personality and looks change to a younger, livelier girl that goes by the name of Paprika. She’s cute, sexy and very friendly, completely opposite of Dr. Chiba.

The only person that doesn’t seem to like the DC Mini is the research facility’s chairman. He doesn’t like the idea of people’s privacies being invaded because in the wrong hands that capability could have disastrous results. This makes sense, but why did he authorize the project to begin with? Anyway, his worst fears come true because that’s exactly what happens when the thief starts using the DC Minis to manipulate everyone who ever used the device.

The problem is that no one knows when they make the shift from reality to dreams. Even when strange things start appearing you don’t seem to find it odd enough for it not to be real. And I’m talking about weird shit like a parade of frogs, talking Japanese dolls, empty walking armors, elephants pushing crocodiles in wheelchairs, giant robots, and other ungodly things. You can also die while dreaming because you don’t have to be sleeping in bed for the dreams to start, so you’re sleep-walking into traffic or off the edge of a building. Not cool. Eventually the dreams become so twisted they start merging with reality and literally all hell breaks lose. Most of the times I was lost, not knowing if they were dreaming or not, but the characters themselves didn’t know, so I guess that’s what the director intended.



I can describe Paprika in two words: beautiful chaos. The animation is superb and the colors very vibrant. All the characters are hand drawn and most of the backgrounds are 2D paintings, but there is also some CG work here and there, like in Princess Mononoke, that fits perfectly with the 2D art. The detail in everyone’s face and the expressions they make are better than in most animes where they look stiffer. The dreams, or should I say nightmares, are very imaginative and surreal. I wonder if director Satoshi Kon did LSD in his youth. The colors, man, the colors!

One of my favorite aspects of the film is the soundtrack. If you manage to get your hands on it go straight to the track called “Parade”. That song is the shit and plays during the end credits. Other tracks to look for are “Shizuku Ippai no Kioku”, “Nigeru Mono” (it played during the theatrical trailer), and “Lounge” (also from the trailer).

While there’s nothing wrong with Paprika, it’s not the kind of movie I need to see more than once, at least not for at least a year. It’s fascinating to look at but it gets weird, fast. It’s a sight to behold and I highly recommend it, but a movie that makes me want to watch it again and again, like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, gets a higher score. Still, anime doesn’t get much better than this.

Score: