Paprika - Blu-ray

An anime science fantasy which really entertains. The heroine of the story is a female neuroscientist who, with the aid of advanced technology is able to enter the dreams, in the guise of a character called Paprika, of troubled people and help them solve their difficulties. All goes well until one of the prototype machines is stolen and the patients dreams are filled with wild fantasies, driving them insane. It is up to Paprika to solve the mystery before the whole world is affected. One not just for Sci-Fi fans but for all anime devotees.

Beautifully drawn sort-of-thriller about the disappearance of the prototype of a machine which can monitor dreams. There are some inexplicable bits of plot (Why are we supposed not to know that A is merely B's virtual avatar, when it is so obvious? What on earth does B see in C? What's it all to D, anyway?) but it wouldn't be anime without them. The technique of manifesting oneself through the lens of a TV camera appears to be derived from Alice's method in 'Through the Looking Glass'. Thoroughly recommended to the connoisseur and collector, though perhaps not one for younger children susceptible to nightmares.

I'll give you my over all impression first because that's the crux of everything else I'm going to say: it feels as if they wanted to make this excellent, surreal series of animated dream sequences and just needed any old story to link it all together. It starts out slowly and a little misleadingly, but really gathers momentum and gets better and better as it goes along, faltering slightly in terms of pacing and direction at certain points in the latter half.The main plot, the only bit of the various narratives that the blurb touches, is remarkably basic and entirely unimpressive - and I don't think for a moment that anyone involved in making it would think otherwise. You see, what the blurb doesn't mention is that the REAL plot is actually each character's core psychological problem; the thing that stops them being the person they could be. Each of the characters have their own narrative about coming to terms with who they are (sounds cheesy, it's anything but in this movie) which they do by figuring out that one moment, or that one issue, that sort of derailed their smooth progress through life. Essentially, they get psychotherapy by living and reliving their dreams.Now that's what gives the film an emotional grounding and humanity, but despite the characters being handled as real people, rather than just devices for telling a story, I still can't shake the feeling that it's all just an excuse for some amazing - often stunning - dream sequences. I guess it's like a more artistic version of an action film, where every bit of plot exposition and dialogue is just a set-up for a shoot-out or an explosion. In short, no matter how believable (most of) the characters are, it all feels rather flat and somewhat on auto-pilot when it's not in a dream sequence. This is about 80% of the reason why this didn't get a 5/5 from me.The other reasons are that, like so many anime movies, it gets rather lost as it goes on and seems to lose its way and its pacing. It gets tied up in trying to deliver plot twists and in trying to be more complex than it need be. I'm not saying that it gets confusing, though some may find it does, but rather that as it goes on it sort of buckles under the weight of everything it's trying to say and do, and the drama, pacing and over all flow of the film suffer as a consequence. Then there's that while some of the characters are very well-developed and feel very human indeed, some others are criminally flat and clichéd. This would be OK if they were side-characters, but I'm referring to the bad guys of the piece.The reason you should watch this is because it's an often breathtaking display of imagination and animation, with some really believable characters with very human problems, all backed up by some incredibly original and fitting music. The whole "recover the dream devices" plot really takes a back seat to all those things.Some general notes: It contains elements of sci-fi, mystery, romance, action and fantasy. It appears to have received its 15 classification because there are a couple of breast shots and a scene in which a woman is held at the mercy of a man who wants to show his professed love to her by feeling her up and being a bit manic.

I got this film because it was a highly rated anime and because I'd seen Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue and really enjoyed it, seeing as this was about the dreams and altering reality I decided to give it a try.Firstly the animation was amazing, apparently they used some cgi in there- I couldn't even tell! The whole dream sequence is so extravagant all the movement and the colours it was brilliant.The music was something else as well, i had to get the soundtrack most of it is outstanding, it really works with the film and was apparently the first film soundtrack to use a vocaloid- a program/machine that mimics the human voice.As someone who immensely enjoyed Inception, I heard this was one of Christopher Nolan's inspirations for Inception I had to see it. The plot is really good, it keeps you guessing for most of the film and ends up with a huge fight in dreams/reality. The detective subplot was really inventive too, and I felt quite sorry for him when he was waiting for Paprika etc.Paprika is one of those films you can watch again and again and it all comes together even better, though it ends like Inception where you aren't overly sure what's been reality and a dream or if they're still in the dream.My only criticism is that the subtitles only match up with the Japanese, so watching in English with the subtitles - a little thing I do with every film- is annoying.Overall this film is great, and could fit in the same category as The Matrix - I just can't wait to read the book which was written in the 90's. It's a shame it took so long to make this film, and with a live action film being made soon this fantastic piece of cinema will reach more even people. 5*

I really enjoyed this movie.Treat for the eyes,ears and the soul.Allegedly this movie was the "inspiration" for Inception.Rest assured, this movie is far better than Inception.It's a science fiction mystery with a great chase scene and a respectful portrayal of Mental health , something rare in Japanese cinema.

Oh my. I love Satoshi Kon. I didn't think he could top Millennium Actress, but he did! Paprika is visually stunning, and the story is really interesting too. I haven't had the chance to read the original novel, but I'm sure the film did justice. It's very entertaining all the way through and makes you care about the characters. Another important aspect is the music...I'm a great admirer of Susumu Hirasawa, and he doesn't disappoint. The music fits the film so well, it's all perfect IMO. Would recommend it for fans of Satoshi and Christopher Nolan (especially if you loved Inception ;))