Review of Paprika (2006) by Andrewk. — 29 Jun 2007

I don't normally like anime, and I didn't really think Tokyo Godfathers was all that great, but I really loved this film. I love anything that has to do with dreams, and this had plenty of surreal dream imagery to keep me interested.

Little has been said in the reviews about the characters themselves. Paprika herself is adorable and her scientist counterpart, Atsuko, is interesting in that she refuses to let her playful side out of her when she is herself.

The odd interaction between Atsuko and Paprika makes it hard to know where one begins and the other ends. The old man that she works for is good for a laugh (sorry I can't remember names...been a week or two).

The cop character is interesting and a good hero figure that we believe in. The fat scientist who creates the device used to enter people's dreams is funny and endearing, but if there were any flaw with the movie, I'd have to say that it was in not establishing enough of a connection between him and Atsuko in the beginning.

It would make more sense for what comes at the end. The villains in the film are wonderfully evil. The mastermind is a megalomaniac and his accomplice is demented in just the right, creepy ways. There were shades of Silence of the Lambs in the scene where he has Atsuko pinned down on the table (or maybe it was just the butterfly imagery that made me think of it).

The dreams are so brilliantly insane as well as creepy. I wouldn't even say that it's that difficult to understand as almost everyone else is saying. There were only one or two moments where I was unsure what was going on, and I was willing to forgive that because it added to the surreal nature of the film.

This was a great movie. Don't discount it because it's anime, if you're the type, like me, who often does that.