[Paprika dvd cover]
Paprika
Rating: 9/10
Genre: Anime: surreal/fantasy/sci-fi(ish)
Running Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes
Find it at: HMV, Amazon etc
Rating: 15 for ‘mild sexualised violence’ - of which there wasn’t much and it was certainly mild.
Paprika is a film that I’ve been wantingt o watch for a while now. Yesterday me and my sister went perusing around our local shopping centre (it was a Saturday, which fo course means chaos). The summer sales were on, which made thinsg worse, but the DVD sales were great. So, we picked up the DVD for a measly £6 (huzzah!) and, with our otehr prizes in tow (Bufy the vamp slayer boxsets only £15 each!, Blues Brothers at £2! Sweeny Todd!) we headed home to watch it.
And it didn’t disappoint.
For me, Anime is a strange creature in many respects. Being created (to my knowledge) by the people who brought you ‘spirited away’, and supported by great reviews in ‘Neo Magazine’, I had great hopes for Paprika, but with anime films - frankly- one can never really be sure if they’ll understand the damn thing, much less enjoy it. But I feel that comes form a Western point of view, I’m still - in many ways- under the subconscious assumption that a cartoon film will be all action and almost childish entertainment, So, when greeted by a film like Ghost in The Shell, beautifully animated but more puzzling than the Matrix, one floats a little between enjoyment and puzzlement. Anime films (I’ve seen so far) are slow and intelligent. There is none of this Western rush - it’s almost artsy. Now, when it comes to ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust’ this slowness and care exemplifies the emotion, and weaves a brilliant story. In a film where one struggles a little to see the point, it translates as dull and a little vexing. But, regardless of type, Anime films certainly big it up on the creativity and imagination and, coupled with beautiful animation, it makes them pretty special.
Paprika is a film that has imagination (and, thankfully, entertainment) in bunches.
Now that’s not to say that it’s not an intelligent film. It certainly is intelligent, but because it is set in a dreamscape, where reality and dreams merge and converge, you seem to be able to follow the flow of the film without the lack of answers (at first) irritating you. This flow is a great wave of colour and serial charm. Of childish enjoyment and sinister nightmare. The characters are all brilliantly drawn and you empathize with them all, and the character of Paprika - the imaginary heroine that inhabits the dreams - is brilliant. She’s bubbly, brave, sweet, kind and headstrong when she wants to be; giving a tongue lashing to those who deserve it, and moving through the crazy dream land with such fluid enjoyment and belonging that you as an audience seem to be able to relax into the world in ease. She’s your guide.
Frankly, there’s a lot of other reviews on Paprika that give a better summary of the plot than I can,. As well as a description of the dream world that supports the film. In short: there has been an invention that allows a trained professional to view and manipulate their patient’s dreams in order to psychoanalyse them. However when these little devices are stolen all hell breaks loose, and t begins increasingly difficult to discern where the dreams end and reality begins.
Bold, bright, colourful and very entertaining, I’d definitely recommend it. I really enjoyed it on many levels, and I’m sure you will too. ^_~
Paprika
Rating: 9/10
Genre: Anime: surreal/fantasy/sci-fi(ish)
Running Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes
Find it at: HMV, Amazon etc
Rating: 15 for ‘mild sexualised violence’ - of which there wasn’t much and it was certainly mild.
Paprika is a film that I’ve been wantingt o watch for a while now. Yesterday me and my sister went perusing around our local shopping centre (it was a Saturday, which fo course means chaos). The summer sales were on, which made thinsg worse, but the DVD sales were great. So, we picked up the DVD for a measly £6 (huzzah!) and, with our otehr prizes in tow (Bufy the vamp slayer boxsets only £15 each!, Blues Brothers at £2! Sweeny Todd!) we headed home to watch it.
And it didn’t disappoint.
For me, Anime is a strange creature in many respects. Being created (to my knowledge) by the people who brought you ‘spirited away’, and supported by great reviews in ‘Neo Magazine’, I had great hopes for Paprika, but with anime films - frankly- one can never really be sure if they’ll understand the damn thing, much less enjoy it. But I feel that comes form a Western point of view, I’m still - in many ways- under the subconscious assumption that a cartoon film will be all action and almost childish entertainment, So, when greeted by a film like Ghost in The Shell, beautifully animated but more puzzling than the Matrix, one floats a little between enjoyment and puzzlement. Anime films (I’ve seen so far) are slow and intelligent. There is none of this Western rush - it’s almost artsy. Now, when it comes to ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust’ this slowness and care exemplifies the emotion, and weaves a brilliant story. In a film where one struggles a little to see the point, it translates as dull and a little vexing. But, regardless of type, Anime films certainly big it up on the creativity and imagination and, coupled with beautiful animation, it makes them pretty special.
Paprika is a film that has imagination (and, thankfully, entertainment) in bunches.
Now that’s not to say that it’s not an intelligent film. It certainly is intelligent, but because it is set in a dreamscape, where reality and dreams merge and converge, you seem to be able to follow the flow of the film without the lack of answers (at first) irritating you. This flow is a great wave of colour and serial charm. Of childish enjoyment and sinister nightmare. The characters are all brilliantly drawn and you empathize with them all, and the character of Paprika - the imaginary heroine that inhabits the dreams - is brilliant. She’s bubbly, brave, sweet, kind and headstrong when she wants to be; giving a tongue lashing to those who deserve it, and moving through the crazy dream land with such fluid enjoyment and belonging that you as an audience seem to be able to relax into the world in ease. She’s your guide.
Frankly, there’s a lot of other reviews on Paprika that give a better summary of the plot than I can,. As well as a description of the dream world that supports the film. In short: there has been an invention that allows a trained professional to view and manipulate their patient’s dreams in order to psychoanalyse them. However when these little devices are stolen all hell breaks loose, and t begins increasingly difficult to discern where the dreams end and reality begins.
Bold, bright, colourful and very entertaining, I’d definitely recommend it. I really enjoyed it on many levels, and I’m sure you will too. ^_~
