When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients’ dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.
What colorful lights and sounds must emit from Satoshi Kon’s brain that his synapses are capable of coming up with such a fever dream? If he had not tragically passed away after making this movie, what wild imaginings could he have conjured up? At this point, his two most famous films, “Paprika” and “Perfect Blue,” have all the trappings of an incredible trip. He constantly blurs the lines between reality and dreams with horrific imagery while playing with the story’s narrative. “Paprika” is his second most notorious (after “Perfect Blue” ’s chilling story), known for its near-perfect replication in Christopher Nolan’s “Inception.” Twenty years on, “Paprika” still whimsically hits with pizzaz and verve even as it slides into wild rabbit holes within rabbit holes and ends on a solid finale.
Three scientists at the Foundation for Psychiatric Research fail to secure a device they’ve invented, the D.C. Mini, which allows people to record and watch their dreams. A thief uses the device to enter people’s minds when awake and distract them with their own dreams and those of others. Chaos ensues. The trio – Chiba, Tokita, and Shima – assisted by a police inspector and by a sprite named Paprika, must try to identify the thief as they ward off the thief’s attacks on their own psyches. Dreams, reality, and the movies merge, while characters question the limits of science and the wisdom of Big Brother.
It’s a miasma of ideas and timelines that fold in on each other over and over again. Satoshi Kon really lets loose in this flick, dancing from one sequence to another using visual links or thematic connections rather than actual narrative timelines. One person’s dream may turn out to be a nightmare that only Paprika can help you wake up from. Despite all its twists and turns, the film manages to stick to its narrative even if it wobbles with a double finale.
So much about this film works on such a textural level. Sure, it does the sort of reality-bending thing that frustrates some audiences and really leans on the logic of dreams to keep the story bouncing, but even as it unravels further and further, it still holds on to a semblance of sense. That sense really carries the film and makes even its darker scenes intelligible to an audience. That effort alone makes the movie a miracle. It meanders eagerly but never entirely loses its way. The dreams are perfect excuses to invent all kinds of imagery, and the chase sequences cross from world to world to world, even alluding to the dreamlike quality of films and their ability to capture our inner conscience.
As a first-timer to “Paprika,” I’d been aware of its illustrious dream sequences and clear-point inspiration for many dream films (not just “Inception”). This film did not disappoint in delivering a taut narrative with some truly wild twists and an impressive emotional release by its conclusion. As adult animation goes, it’s by far one of the best out there, and I cannot recommend it enough to others. It’s a brisk ninety minutes, so it’s well worth your watch.
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