Review of Paprika (2006) by Dawdlingpoet — 21 Nov 2021

This is a slightly eery and mildly sinister anime film - it made me think of the film Inception, in terms of discussions about being able to enter other peoples dreams and the like, plus the fact that its somewhat multi-layered . The animation is pretty decent, 2D but certainly engrossing never the less. Its not really action packed as such, not at first certainly but the plot and the characters are intriguing enough to keep the viewer watching, as I say. I liked the music played in the background at times - quite atmospheric pieces that help you to feel the relevant emotion as felt by the character on screen - unsure, worried, excited/energetic etc.

I liked the way lighting was used within the animation at times, with some scenes being almost, if anything, too bright - with bold, vivid colours depicting the many items on the move, having been made real by the power of the dream (you'll have to watch it to see what I mean) and in other scenes, the dull, or dark, urban settings are clearly shown as just that, dark and dim. There is a certain metaphor element to this, I suppose.

I thought it was interesting how the scientist/doctor explained the scenarios, the talk about dreams and films interested me and there are some quite gripping moments, when things came to a head. There is some undoubtedly disturbing imagery present at around about an hour in to the film, which clearly justifies the 15 rating/certificate the film carries here in the UK. There is somewhat sexual imagery present, or what at first appears to be so, so be aware of that. Its certainly a quirky watch - a relatively immersive one at that.I would recommend this film to other fans of Satoshi Kon's work - this isn't your average anime film length show, thats for sure.