The work of Satoshi Kon only really came into my life at the back end of last year. That was when I watched Perfect Blue (1997) and Tokyo Godfathers (2003) and immediately knew I needed to seek out his other films. And today we shall be talking about his fourth and final film before his untimely death in 2010, and that film is Paprika (2006). The film follows a group of therapists who have developed a machine that allows them to enter their patients’ dreams. When one of these machines is stolen, they realise the potential of the machine is exponentially more extreme than initially expected, and the thief is using the machine for nefarious means. This leads one of the therapists, the titular Paprika, to try to fight off these invading forces in both the real and dream worlds.
As a synopsis this feels like the most, I can simplify the film down in a narrative sense. As was the case with Perfect Blue there is a fair bit going on narratively and so it can take a little while to be able to grasp what is actually going on, which is only exacerbated by the fact the film takes place between the real world and dream worlds. This isn’t necessarily a criticism of the film, although I do feel it may lessen its accessibility to all viewers. But it is never so confusing that you become uninterested or bored. I was always fully engaged and intrigued by where the plot was taking me, and by the end, I am pretty sure I was completely clued in to exactly what was going on and why things were happening, so in that sense, the narrative does flow well. Another comparison that can be made to Perfect Blue is the clear influence this film has had on later Hollywood films. Where Perfect Blue clearly inspired Darren Aronofsky or Requiem for a Dream (2000) and even more so Black Sawn (2010), this film seems to have been an inspiration for Christopher Nolan when making Inception (2010). Certain people go so far as to say that Inception is a clear rip-off, although I wouldn’t say this is true. Although there are some clear similarities in the film’s narrative, and there also seem to be some visual nods to Paprika in Nolan’s film, there is enough difference for it to air on the side of inspiration rather than a rip-off. But it is a good comparison to make to give you a sense of the kind of narrative the film sticks to.
Speaking of the visual nods to Paprika in Inception, what I would say is I do not blame Christopher Nolan. This film is visually incredible. A true treat for the eyes. I knew it was going to be having seen previous Satoshi Kon films, but this one takes it to a whole new level. This is helped by the narrative being set between real life and dreams, so there is so much for room and creativity. After all, anything is possible in dreams. And the film does a brilliant job of creating stunning, surrealist visuals, while also keeping to its themes and the narrative as a whole, not getting distracted by the surrealist nature of the visuals. The film uses colour and lighting brilliantly, allowing the film to both pop when it needs to and be more subdued when it needs to. It also has a level of detail that helps to completely sell the world that the film is set in and is a staple of Kon’s work. The best aspect of the film comes from the animation itself. I love the animation style Kon employs in his films, but the way the animation itself flows is impeccable. There is so much of this film that is based on weird movements, or things not quite being as they should, and the animation adds so much to this feeling throughout the film. It is exquisite and it feels hard to quite put into words how wonderful the animation and visuals are.
To be perfectly honest I don’t think I have done a great job of selling how much I enjoyed this film throughout this whole review. Let me try and salvage that now. If I look back on the two previous Kon films I had seen, I really loved Tokyo Godfathers, but I feel like Perfect Blue is a near masterpiece. Paprika is on a level with Perfect Blue for me, and at this point in time, I would be hard pressed to say which I prefer. Yes, the narrative of this film felt a little confusing at times, but I was always completely engaged and enthralled by it, and by the time it was wrapping up I felt like it had come through and answered the questions I wanted answering. Add to this the impeccable animation and visuals throughout and you have a film that had me hooked from start to finish and one I would implore pretty much anyone to give a watch.
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