Review of Paprika (2006) by Mattbrady99 — 31 Mar 2020

"The Internet and dreams are similar. They're areas where the repressed conscious mind escapes.".

Not for children or the faint of heart. 'Paprika' doesn't hesitate when descending into a trippy nightmare with it's untamed imagination. It's like an anime comic book coming to life in a Salvador Dali style of surreal. Even the square frame can't contain the madness of the dreamworld. Once the song 'Susumu Hirasawa - Parade' started playing, I knew that things were gonna get weird, real fast.

However, not to say the movie doesn't hold any beauty in it's dreamlike setup. All colors and animation aside, the beauty itself comes from the imagination and the amount of detail Satoshi put into the movie, which was mesmerizing.

The soundtrack's great as well. It's so full of energy and joy that it doesn't matter if I didn't know what the lyrics are actually saying.

I think director Satoshi Kon said it better himself:

"If you look at a dream overall, it's very difficult to discern the meaning. However, as time goes on, there might be certain meanings in the background. Movies that you can watch once and understand entirely -- that is the type of movie that I don't really like. However, if you are able to understand 70 to 80 percent of what's being relayed, and there's still some percentage left that would allow for your own interpretation . . . that's the type of movie that I do like. There might be a certain part that you don't quite understand, but there is a portion that rests in your heart." R.I.