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 (1)
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Prepare to enter the realm of fantasy and imagination - where reality and dreams collide in a kaleidoscopic mindscape of sheer visual genius. The magical tale centres 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” in this gripping anime thriller from acclaimed director, Satoshi Kon. (Umbrella Entertainment)
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Reviews (8)
Huh? It’s over already? That went by fast! Confusion? But even dreams have meaning sometimes, don't they? You just have to find it :-) A good film, with good accompaniment, characters and "story". But I feel a bit like something was kept from us. It's a strange film, but Kon doesn't make any other kind -_^ It's a bit hard to judge, but you'll definitely get some impression, some experience, some feeling from it.
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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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Another beautiful example that the Japanese can create serious and interesting films with deep thoughts, all while being animated. No one else can do it as well as they do, as if the world still believes that animation is primarily for children. The Japanese are carrying that flag bravely and firmly, and thankfully others are joining them.
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A bit of an animated version of Inception, slightly mixed with Cronenberg's eXistenZ. While both of the mentioned titles thrilled me equally despite their different style and content, I remained indifferent to Paprika. Only a few East Asian films appeal to me and tune into me correctly emotionally. I simply come from a different cultural circle and I feel things differently. Paprika has a fairly simple theme - the plot revolves around a stolen device for researching human dreams, but it has heavy and confused processing, which emphasizes the visually overloaded abundance of glaring colors. This one star is only for the film's potential, which in my opinion could be used much more effectively and with incomparably greater impact. Overall impression: 25%.
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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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Gallery (31)
Photo © Sony Pictures Classics
![Paprika - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/160/151/160151724_a92d2e.jpg)
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