Paprika

Scott Hardie: “It was ok.”

This anime landmark has a reputation for gorgeous, trippy visuals married to an underdeveloped story. Finally seeing it now, I have to agree. The dream imagery is sometimes breathtaking and always clever, if a bit repetitive, and the movie is worth seeing if you merely want a surreal visual experience. But the story doesn't satisfy, mostly because the villain's motivation is so poorly defined that it's barely clear why any of these events are happening, let alone how. There's also a lot of misogyny and fatphobia in the film, both off-putting. Still, Shima's nonsensical ravings are a hoot.

There's been a debate for years as to whether Christopher Nolan's Inception ripped this off or merely paid tribute to it. I'm inclined to believe the latter (why copy characters' outfits if it's not an open acknowledgement?), but either way, to me Inception is the superior film. I get what the scholarly articles say about the depths of Paprika's philosophical ideas; I just don't believe that it executed the dramatic expression of those ideas very well. Something broke down on the way from concept to film. My American bias might have caused something to be lost in translation; maybe this plays much better in Japan or among anime fans more acquainted with the medium.

− November 29, 2024 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply