Saturday Morning Cartoons XLI: Paprika
Posted by Ross Rosenberg
An apology in advance to those readers who appreciate more of a mix in their Saturday Morning Cartoons, more of a grab-bag of treats with which to satisfy their dilettantish sweet tooth. Today we present a meal, a robust, full flavored dish chock full of aromatic spices and out of control insanity. Today Ectomo is proud to present Satoshi Kon’s Paprika.
Paprika is set in the near future and focuses on a new type of psychotherapy treatment called dream therapy. Using a device known as a “DC Mini”, therapists are able to enter the dreams of their patients. The story begins with Doctor Atsuko Chiba, who uses the alter-ego known as Paprika during therapy sessions, counseling one Detective Konakawa Toshimi. The nature of the sessions is a closely guarded secret as the use of the DC Mini is unsanctioned, and its existence is being kept from the press. Things quickly go wrong, however, when three of the machines are stolen, and so begins the story proper.
The themes present in Paprika are well-trodden by Kon. He has almost a singular obsession with the human subconscious — especially in terms of a larger, societal subconscious — and pop culture. Paprika does not stray too far from this territory but the torrent of imagery that Kon throws at the viewer makes the experience feel fresh nevertheless. It also strikes me upon each subsequent viewing how much Kon is seemingly aping Hayao Miyazaki —probably the most successful current animator coming out of Japan by western standards. Whether this is intentional or not I cannot be sure, but he does it well enough, and sparingly enough, that the film is not bogged down by a feeling that one is watching, say, Spirited Away II: The Revenge
Paprika really is a fantastic film, and for those of you who are not as enthusiastic about anime, or who downright loathe it, I would still urge you to give it a try. Kon’s work is unlike most of Japanese animation that makes it to our shores and I feel that, given the chance, it may surprise you.
Saturday Morning Cartoons XLI: Paprika [YouTube]
Categories: Animation, Anime, Dreams, Insanity, Japan, Movies, Pop Surrealism, Psychiatry, Psychology, Rail, Saturday Morning Cartoons
Posted at 11:08 am on September 6, 2008
16 Comments -
I Tweeted the song “Runner,” yesterday.
Comment by Damien — September 6, 2008 @ 11:30 am
Susumu Hirasawa has made a couple of tracks (Runner & The Girl in Byakkoya) available for free at http://www.teslakite.com/freemp3s/e/paprika/ — the opening music is similar to Byakkoya, which was used for the ending credits.
But goodness, where ever did you find an english-dubbed version with what language of subtitles?
Comment by NNeko — September 6, 2008 @ 11:39 am
I rented Paprika a while ago and had high hopes. Sadly, those hopes were dashed.
It started strong, then got muddled. The ending just became a mess. The movie ended up seeming like an excuse to make the weirdest possible visuals that had no plot connection or overall point because they were dreams.
Comment by Rottenartist — September 6, 2008 @ 12:44 pm
Oh god yes. Super eyecandy visuals with amazing Kon twistyplot and the best ending ever. Love me some Paprika – glad you found it all online!
Comment by Rit — September 6, 2008 @ 1:56 pm
I’ve been following this director’s work for a while & deeply appreciate his works’ complexity/sensibility.
Comment by muse_x — September 6, 2008 @ 1:59 pm
Dear lord. Where can i find this without that horrendous dub? That woman’s voice encodes so badly its like listening to a dolphin trying to speak english!
Comment by Strixus — September 6, 2008 @ 5:29 pm
Yeah, Paprika! This movie is great, high quality, very detailed with awesome music.
Comment by Chicken008 — September 6, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
I saw it in theaters! It’s just as good the third time.
Comment by Kingfisher — September 6, 2008 @ 9:46 pm
People keep telling me to watch this, but I just never got around to it. Youtube quality seems like such a waste of a first viewing though, if it’s as visually arresting as I’ve heard it is.
Comment by Noct — September 7, 2008 @ 2:35 am
@Noct: It’s absolutely worth holding off to watch at a better quality.
Comment by Mike — September 7, 2008 @ 4:28 am
I really have to support the other comments here and say you’re best watching this animé on DVD. It is so visually rich, YouTube doesn’t do it justice.
As an aside: I would love to know how the uploader managed to rip this film to their computer. My DVD has Sony’s bloody irritating copy protection on it, so I keep loosing the first chapter!
Comment by Bogie — September 7, 2008 @ 5:14 am
Torrent it?
Comment by Kingfisher — September 7, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
One has to suggest Tekkonkinkreet.
Comment by omphalos — September 8, 2008 @ 12:44 am
Such a great film, I was lucky enough to be able to see this in limited release theaters.
Comment by Csquared — September 8, 2008 @ 9:47 pm
This is really nice.
Mad House makes the sweetest films, I love the intricacy and ambitious animation.
I do find the plots end up a bit meaningless by the end of their work, but all in all, I enjoy watching.
Comment by Dee Bellwether — September 21, 2008 @ 7:47 pm
Paprika was a visual feast! i’ve been thinking of re-visiting it the last few weeks.
Comment by groonk — October 9, 2008 @ 11:35 am