Paprika sprinkles its spicy originality across a sprawling vibrant fever dream. Dreams are windows to the imaginative capacity of the subconscious. Manipulating memories to fabricate worlds unbounded by the physical laws of reality. An endless wave of colours and possibilities, requiring no legitimacy for their existence. In psychology, dreams are a method for interrogating the mentality of its subject. Recurring nightmares could be a sign of stress-induced anxiety, fear or mental disorders. The late Satoshi Kon, in what was his last full feature, harnessed the concept of Tsutsui’s novel and challenged the limitations of Japanese animation once again. Paprika is the equivalent of a hallucinogenic warped mind-bending drug-induced fever dream that tests the attentive abilities of its audience. This is as “anime” as Kon’s work gets. Bashfully bonkers. Colourfully confusing. And plenty of Paprika. Whilst ‘Perfect Blue’ is his most accessible feature for adults, Paprika tends to engage itself with fans of the art form instead. That’s not a derogatory trait to have, as it allows Kon to exercise his visionary ingenuity one last time, but the narrative requires patience. A quaint approach that resembles the personality of doctor Chiba, the head scientist of a revolutionary new psychotherapy treatment creatively entitled “Dream Therapy”. But when a dream recording device is stolen, a plague of nonsensical dreams start to merge with the realms of reality. A parade of dancing frogs, strange dolls, wiggling electronic appliances, colossal Shinto gates and golden cat statues just to name a few composites of the ominous fever dream that plagues the minds of unsuspecting dreamers. Infiltrating such a cluster bomb of visual splendour would be no simple task for Chiba’s dream alter-ego Paprika, when at one point she is groped by a colleague who physically splits her fleshed shell in half (not nearly as traumatic as it sounds though...). Yet beneath the mesmerising dream-bending extravaganza is a narrative centralising on the sophisticated theme of control. Taking one’s life back. Detective Konakawa represents this exquisitely when trialling out the “DC Mini” device to treat his anxiety. The recurring nightmarish dream regarding his homicide case prevents him from being in control of his life, unable to watch films at the cinema due to past trauma in his childhood. The amalgamation of present and past within his dream perfectly illustrates the haunting abilities that our subconscious infects our mind with. From a non-scientific perspective, it’s a large reasoning for the development of mental disorders. Of course, the underdeveloped affection Chiba has for her obese child-at-heart genius colleague Tokita somewhat negates the central narrative on psychotherapy, but still focuses on the action of taking control. She finally manages her emotions during a time of distress, and that’s exactly what Paprika revolves around. The whole dream within a dream concept, which apparently was inspiration for Nolan’s epic ‘Inception’, is just a science-fiction shell that enabled Kon to express his creativity without diminishing the novel’s sense of originality. Not to mention Hirasawa’s euphoric score which inventively utilised a vocaloid name “Lola”. Will you fully understand the story on your first watch? Unlikely. Even with the occasionally clunky dialogue that explains the psychotherapy concept. This was the first anime feature film I ever watched (excluding the likes of Pokémon...), and now four watches later I finally understand every single detail of Kon’s cinematic piece of expressionistic art. It’s science-fiction at its most gentle. It’s psychology at its most cerebral. And it’s anime at its most “anime”. Satoshi Kon, you’re a legendary visionary, and always will be.
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Movie Star Rating : 6.5 Read More
Meet Spot, a clever little dog with big dreams of becoming a real boy. When Spot finds out that a crazy scientist can make his wish come true, he takes a cross-country trek with Leonard, his best friend and master, and their mom. However, Dr. Krank's experiments are a little less than perfect, and it will take Leonard and his pet pals to right this genetic wrong.
Movie Star Rating : 5.9 Read More
Set 15 years after "Twentieth Century Boys," Kanna (Airi Taira) reunites with several main characters from the first film in an attempt to stop Friend's increasing influence over the world and continued plans to eliminate humanity, as detailed in the New Book of Prophecy.
Movie Star Rating : 6.7 Read More
In order to diagnose the psychic traumas suffered by his patients, Dr. Paul Novotny gets young Alex Gardner to enter their dreams.
Movie Star Rating : 6.1 Read More
After being deserted by her parents, 11-year old Miyori shuts her heart from the rest of the world and denies any form of human relationships. She was entrusted in the care of her grandmother who lives near a forest. Miyori will take a walk in the forest where she felt a strong sense of loneliness in the forest which seems to have nothing. However, she soon encounters unbelievable things...
Movie Star Rating : 7.1 Read More
A sensitive girl who lives in a port town develops a strong interest in the wider world when a young man she meets sets off on a journey. What kind of world is waiting beyond the sea?
Movie Star Rating : 0 Read More
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Movie Star Rating : 0 Read More
The Straw Hat Pirates are on a quest to save the desert kingdom of Alabasta. A civil war brews among the sands, one started and stirred by the hand of none other than Crocodile and his corrupted Baroque Works gang. The stakes run ever higher as Princess Vivi's homeland threatens to tear itself apart. More than lives are on the line.
Movie Star Rating : 6.8 Read More
Socially isolated dream-programmer Norman is desperately and secretly in love with his new boss, Claudia. When promoted to program a dream for a high profile client, Norman inadvertently bungles the operation and is forced to share his own fantasy dream involving Claudia. When the lines between dream and reality begin to blur, Norman questions if he is in fact dreaming or is stuck in his client's dream.
Movie Star Rating : 0 Read More
Noel and Ninny are doing an everyday job for Wing Bind when the chief calls. Since the Sabres are not available, the two need to take care of a Dark Dragon that is causing trouble in Front London. But that is just where the problems begin.
Movie Star Rating : 7.4 Read More
The film that brings back horror icon Freddy Krueger as a darker and more sinister character than ever before. While Freddy is on the prowl, a group of teenagers being stalked soon learn they all have a common factor making them targets for this twisted killer.
Movie Star Rating : 5.5 Read More
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