Fig 1 poster of Paprika

The film Paprika was directed by Satoshi Kon, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 46, was one of
the boldest and most distinctive film-makers to specialise in animation. Much of Kon's animation
combines realistic drama (usually set in present-day Tokyo) with dreams and fantasy. This approach
culminated in his dazzling 2006 film Paprika, which received a standing ovation at the Venice film
festival. (Osmond, 2010) His films examine their characters' psychology. He was especially
preoccupied with the concept of subjective reality and incorporated it into almost all his works.
Based on a novel by the Japanese author Yasutaka Tsutsui, and written by Mr. Kon and Seishi
Minakami,(Dargis, 2007)

Fig 2

The film Paprika is about the dream world a how it has become a bright, hysterical, hyperkinetic
nightmare: a realm of violence and chaos. In this densely plotted story, set in the familiar anime
world of the near future, a revolutionary device called the DC Mini allows an elite group of
researchers, led by the stern female scientist Dr. Atsuko Chiba, to enter the dreams of psychiatric
patients, record them and even make therapeutic interventions. Like the “Ghost in the Shell” animes,
“Paprika” explores that intersection between the human and the machine, including the lands of
enchantment you can travel to when you plug in, boot up and drop out. (Dargis,2007)
The theme of the film is very in your face. The major theme explored in this movie is film-
making. Paprika is explicit in talking about how dreams are like movies. And how Inception shows
this parallel by having dreams that are very similar to movie action sequences. Paprika keeps its
dreams weirder and dream-like than Inception, while still discussing how similar dreams and
memories are to films.

The film Paprika took two years of production, a crew of 50 people and a budget of $4 million,
Screenwriting, production design, storyboard -- all of these are accomplished by his own hand.
Unlike other studios, where disciplines have been partitioned and segregated among a large group
of people, in Japan the same amount of work is done more economically. With fewer people
overseeing more tasks, the crew feels a much deeper sense of involvement in the project.

Paprika was nominated for a Golden Lion (best film) at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival of
2006 and won the Public's Choice Award at the Montréal Festival of New Cinema of the same year.
Its soundtrack was the first in a feature film to use a singing voice synthesizer known as a "Vocaloid".
A live-action adaptation was in development until it was outsourced by the release of Inception in
2010. Which then ruined the chance of a live action piece which would have been Kon’s last film
before his death.

Illustration

Fig 1 Satoshi Kon, (2006), Paprika [ONLINE]. Available

at: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/paprika/[Accessed 11 May 2018].

Fig 2 Satoshi Kon, (2006), psychological themes of identity and reality. [ONLINE]. Available
at: https://www.awn.com/animationworld/paprika-satori-satoshi [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Bibliography

Osmond, A (2010) Satoshi Kon obituary. At:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/26/satoshi-kon-obituary (Acessed on 11/05/2018)

Dargis, M (2007) "In a Crowded Dreamscape, a Mysterious Pixie". At:

https://reelrundown.com/animation/Film-Review-Paprika (Accessed on 11/05/2018)

Dargis, M (2007) "In a Crowded Dreamscape, a Mysterious Pixie". At:

https://reelrundown.com/animation/Film-Review-Paprika (Accessed on 11/05/2018)