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.
Paprika (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:85
Fresh:70
Rotten:15
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: Following its own brand of logic, Paprika is an eye-opening mind trip that rarely makes sense but never fails to dazzle. The film weaves in and out of dream worlds seamlessly and presents an offbeat puzzle of a fantasy.
Theatrical Release:May 25, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $720,502
Synopsis: With PAPRIKA, Satoshi Kon (TOKYO GODFATHERS, MILLENNIUM ACTRESS) unleashes another eye-popping anime adventure. The visually striking thriller is set in the not-too-distant future, where doctors... With PAPRIKA, Satoshi Kon (TOKYO GODFATHERS, MILLENNIUM ACTRESS) unleashes another eye-popping anime adventure. The visually striking thriller is set in the not-too-distant future, where doctors are developing a groundbreaking new psychotherapy treatment called PT. This coincides with the invention of a device called the "DC Mini," which enables researchers to enter the dreams of a subject and explore matters of the unconscious mind. But one day, a "DC Mini" prototype goes missing, and the doctors are thrown into a world of confusion. They realize how dangerous a turn of events this could be, and to ensure that things don't spiral out of control, they embark on a mad quest to track down the missing prototype. The pretty but timid Dr. Atsuko Chiba teams up with the food-loving Dr. Tokita to find his assistant, Himuro, who has disappeared. Unfortunately, it is at this time that Atsuko's boss, Torataro Shima, tries to commit suicide. Dr. Tokita calls in an old friend, Detective Konakawa, to help the team find an answer to the rapidly devolving problem. As the characters use their dreamworld alter egos to enter the dreams of troubled patients, the line between reality and unreality begins to blur, until no one knows for sure what is real and what isn't. An adaptation of a story by the acclaimed Japanese writer Yasutaka Tsutsui, PAPRIKA tells a tough-to-decipher, but spellbinding, tale. Kon's thought-provoking film features an absurdly catchy J-pop score and an unforgettable visual landscape. [More]
Starring: Megumi Hayashibara, Toru Furuya
Starring: Megumi Hayashibara, Toru Furuya
Director: Satoshi Kon
Director: Satoshi Kon
Screenwriter: Satoshi Kon, Seishi Minakami
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Paprika
Paprika offers a breathtakingly surreal journey. It's a film that may serve up mass destruction and ponder some nightmarish scenarios, but underneath it has a warm humanity and humor that's utterly endearing.
Its visual collision of mindscapes, films within films and dreams within dreams cascade into a dizzying rush that easily washes away the humdrum dialogue and somewhat sketchy plot.
This one jacks you into cyberspace, involving you psychically and physically.
As anime goes, it's not the most freakish of entries, but it's one of the more surprising and scintillating.
Paprika tries to do too much and doesn't do any of it especially well.
The über-dream is both gorgeously animated, in Kon's shimmering, hyperreal style, and sickeningly scary.
Though it's not quite up there with the cream of anime feature films, Paprika is a distinctive, quality addition to the genre.
Paprika expands your notion of what animation can achieve. You wake from it as if from a dream: spooked, provoked and exhilarated.
While the story may make this Kon's least inspired film, the animation is his most inspired.
Paprika is a fertile delta of forms and colors, wildly inventive, shape-shifting, jiggly with fat jokes.
The movie bombards us with so many overlapping fantasies, it's hard -- and in many ways, beside the point -- to keep up with the plot. It's best appreciated by assuming something of a dream state ourselves and enjoying the giddy flow.
Satoshi Kon's glorious visuals are the driving force of a rather strange and surreal sci-fi experience that's often hard to follow.
Whatever it is you're looking for -- comedy, horror, parades of singing frogs and dancing kitchen appliances -- you'll find it in Satoshi Kon's anime adventure, a jaw-dropping feat of imagination.
Some have suggested that taking drugs first would enhance the experience, but really, I don't see how hallucinogens could make the movie any weirder than it is.
Overflowing with dazzling images, many of which walk that thin line between beautiful and terrifying.
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Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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