Satoshi Kon Month: Paprika review

Before I begin discussion of the masterpiece that I have been treated to, I’m sure there is a good number of those reading this that have no idea who Satoshi Kon is, whether you’ve seen his work or not. To those people, I say, Google was created for a reason, so stop wallowing in ignorance, this review will still be here when you get back. For those too lazy to direct their browsers to the nearest search engine, Satoshi Kon was a Japanese writer, animator, and director that earned his fame for his stories that explored the nature of the human mind, presenting stories in such a fashion that required the viewer to actively analyze and sort out which events are real and which events are fabrications of the protagonist’s psyche. The more mainstream anime fan may have heard of his lone television series, “Paranoia Agent”. Unfortunately, after a battle with terminal pancreatic cancer, he passed away at the age of 46 years old in August of 2010. So in honor of the 6 month anniversary of his loss, what better way to celebrate his legacy by reviewing some of his most noteworthy work, starting with his last complete project and what in my opinion is his opus?


If there is one thing in modern day stories that I cannot stand, it is surrealism. For those unfamiliar with the term, surrealism is an artistic visual style reliant on surprise and unexpected imagery in order to convey some form of hidden meaning. I can appreciate it by all means when it’s done properly but my problem with it stems from the fact that it has become a crutch for more pretentious artists to fall back on. What was once a genuinely unique and offbeat way of conveying ideas has become a safety net for sequential artists and storytellers, that don’t know how to tell stories using sequential art. Anybody can do it but it can only be done right when talent is involved in making it happen. Keeping all of this in mind, I went into “Paprika” with my fair amount of reservations. After seeing some of Satoshi Kon’s previous work, I was put slightly at ease at the evidence that he was indeed capable of succeeding in accomplishing such a feat. However, no amount of faith that I had in his directing could have prepared me for the treat I was in for; a movie that seems to be constructed entirely around the concept I’m so critical of and yet so coherent that I was forced to think just as much about what I was watching during my viewing of the film as much as I was after it was said and done.

In the near future, advancements in technology have allowed the process of psychotherapy to be performed much more thoroughly. Through the use of an experimental device known as the DC Mini, users of the device can interact with others through their dreams, allowing them to peak into their subconscious and even persuade them to do things in the outside world. Unfortunately, a man with high connections takes advantage of this form of mind control, killing people within the company that produces the device that can stop his plans. This leaves Doctor Atsuko Chiba with the responsibility of unraveling the mystery of this secret hypnotist in the dreamscape through the use of her alter ego, a red haired manipulator of the dreamscape named Paprika.

As I’ve stated before, my problems with surrealism is that it rarely serves a purpose in the long run. If you’re going to rip me out of the story that I’m invested in to show me something odd, it better damn well contribute to something. “Paprika” has got to have some of the most psychedelic imagery that I’ve seen in quite some time; anthropomorphized objects, manipulating physics and space, and quite a few scenes of fetish and nightmare fuel alike that have been burned into my head. That said, I loved every second of it. The way that the film presents its dreamscape and seamlessly blends in its own set of physics gives you a clear distinction between what is reality and what takes place in the mind for the sake of story coherence, yet contains a slightly unsettling undertone that makes you feel that anything can happen at the most unexpected of times. It leaves the viewer wondering in the back of their minds what they’re actually watching but presents a traditional narrative that can still be viewed and followed clearly, making it just as powerful on its initial viewing as it is on all subsequent views. All of it is presented through crisp high quality animation that never ceases to be a treat to the eyes.

The characters however, are what make the story so compelling. The psychological issues studied by the film through each character that makes the dream setting so fascinating, such as a psychiatric patient that feels as though he’s failed his dead friend because of his failure to commit to a personal project and a doctors obsession with perfecting the DC Mini technology despite the dangers of the current predicament. The movie explores all of these issues using Paprika as a sort of guide for the audience to focus on and her fascinating and unpredictable nature of her makes her that much more endearing to watch. All of this is compounded by top quality voice acting, making it a terrific sci-fi drama regardless of its animated status.

This is the last film that Kon worked on before his death, dying in the middle of his next project, a movie called “The Dream Machine”. I can’t predict how well that film would have been and I’m curious to see what it will be like when the new production team brings it to fruition but had this been his final film, he would have went out with a bang. “Paprika” is one of the freshest, most thought provoking, and simply entertaining movies that I have seen in years and after renting it via Netflix, I intend to buy it the second I come into disposable income. I implore you all to celebrate his legacy by enjoying it and be sure to return sporadically throughout the month to see what else of his work you should look into.

10/10


I'd like to thank Imageshack (http://img147.imageshack.us/i/paprika.jpg/sr=1),  ADTR Wiki (http://www.adtrwiki.com/index.php?title=Paprika), and Girl Power Anime (http://girlpoweranime.blogspot.com/2010/08/paprika.html), for the images used in this review.