Writer-director Satoshi Kon's Paprika is a visually vibrant but narratively muddled science fiction tale. The premise revolves around an experimental psychiatric device that permits therapist Dr. Atsuko Chiba (voiced by Megumi Hayashibara) to not only experience her patients' dreams but also enter them in the persona of vivacious heroine Paprika (also Hayashibara). Unfortunately, not only have several of the prototype mechanisms been stolen, the units are being used to invade peoples' dreams—creating a collective dream that has the potential to wreak havoc in the real world. Paprika must visit various patients in order to track down the villains and retrieve the devices, thereby saving both the dreamers and the world from hallucinatory destruction. Chiba/Paprika is also assisted by a hardboiled police detective investigating the meaning of his own dreams. While Paprika ultimately resolves the action-adventure mystery at its core, the narrative is so murky and disjointed that it often seems like a bad dream itself. But the imaginative imagery is the real draw here: as a purely sensory experience, the R-rated Paprika is a spicy dish indeed. Recommended, overall. Aud: P. [Note: DVD extras include an audio commentary (by director Satoshi Kon, composer Susumu Hirasawa, and associate producer Taro Morishima), a half-hour “Tsutsui and Kon's Paprika” making-of featurette, the 29-minute production featurette “A Conversation About the Dream,” “The Dream CG World” animation featurette (15 min.), “The Art of Fantasy” (12 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an eye-popping anime.] (F. Swietek)
Paprika
(2007) 90 min. DVD: $26.98. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (avail. from most distributors on Nov. 27). ISBN: 1-4248-5571-3. Volume 22, Issue 6
Paprika
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