Paprika (2006)
Paprika (2006) 9/10
Paprika opens with a virtuoso dreamlike sequence that is at once jarring and disconcerting. After yanking all preconceptions of what you might expect from an anime, it proceeds to send you headlong into an adventure that is frenetic and exhilarating. Describing Paparika’s plot is an excercise in futility, seeing as it incorporates elements of sci-fi, film noir and horror, among others.
There are some films where the plot itself does not really matter and all that matters is to immerse yourself in the experience of the film and let it lift you. With Paprika, you literally soar as director Satoshi Kon crafts a riveting tour de force that will probably alter you perception of animation itself. With dazzling imagery (proving you don’t need 3D to make a brilliant anime) fueled by an inspiring soundtrack and top-notch editing, watching Paprika almost ranks as a cathartic experience. Satoshi Kon works like Hayao Miyazaki on steroids, overloading the audience with a visual-sensory assault and dazzlingly original vision mixed with sly homages to films past. How can one not like a film that references Tarzan, Sun Wukong, Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers, among others? With a creepy looking Japanese Doll that that seems to be inspired by Ju-On, to a colorfully ominous procession that could have been taken from Ghost In The Shell 2, the film is a smart, intelligent feast that ranks amongst the best animation ever produced.
Currently it is one of only 4 animated films that deserve a spot in my top 100 films list, and is the second best animated film i have watched , losing only to Miyazaki’s seminal Spirited Away. If Terry Gilliam’s Brazil was turned into an animation, it might well have become Paprika. This intellectual flight of fancy isn’t as easy a feat as it may seem and the director crafts the tale with finesse. The Pang Bros recently tried a similar concept in the live action meets CGI film Recycle, which was a muddled and mediocre accomplishment. But Parika not only effortlessly blends the myarid genres, it does so with verve. As one of the best animated films ever produced, Paprika ranks as a must see film for any movie lover, a film that not only meets the exacting standards of the arthouse critics but also thrills the mainstream viewer. Utterly mesmerizing.
“An animé filmmaker whose lushly fluid visuals glide, swagger and throttle about with amazing dexterity, Kon’s latest is an aesthetically breathtaking future-noir-via-philosophical-head-trip”- Schager
“Smart, electrifying, and proudly unhinged, this Japanimated gem definitely belongs in the fold, and might even win over a few older art-house patrons with its very adult, transhumanist premise of interactive dream therapy run amok.”- Hillis
