Paprika (2006)
Director: Satoshi Kon
Now the elements of dream within a narrative do astonish me
for how they forge the impression of anything possibly being a dream or
reality. This film did have real components that were subsequently used in the
Chris Nolan classic Inception, and with this it gives the film a real enticing
grip into the Satoshi Kon’s picture. The film has a duality of protagonists’
with Paprika/ Chiba Atsuko who is a psychiatrist that develops the new
technological advance in psychiatric treatment by divulging into the patients
dreams, and also Tokita, a police officer, who becomes obsessed with finding
who stole this device from the company before it was a fully completed tool.
These two characters become intertwined within a mysterious
adventure of the tangential qualities this ‘dream-terrorist’ employs when he
has hold of the machine. Now being a newcomer onto the Japanese anime scene,
I’ve seen the four powerhouse films directed by Hayao Miyakazi (Spirited Away,
Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke & Nausicaä of the Valley of the
Wind to be exact) which did indeed set the precedent and create an instant respect for the
fluid art that is anime. Furthermore, this film did create the impression that
the narratives of this genre are clearly limitless and anything can be
developed and created, which is just unparalleled and a technique that Hollywood
can only dream of realising.
Moving back to the film, Satoshi Kon has really moved
forward and establish an original piece of film with a real feel and emotional
attachment to the characters that was previously used in his brilliant film,
Tokyo Godfathers. The narrative moves at a brisk pace with key information
being dropped in to implement a more grand design of a picture. We discover
secrets from out characters; they’re trepidations and haunting pasts, something
all in the quest to reclaim a device that unearths these very subjects.
In short, this film is a must see with a real focus on
making everything questionable of its validity and indeed giving the audience a
want for the characters to succeed in their quest.
A beautiful piece of anime with heart and soul and a
talented director at its helm.
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