Back for good, with more Ghibli works!

It feels good to be back! Up and running, another day (hopefully!) another post. Though it took longer then expected I'm back from educational death, in time to catch up with my cinematic activities. Missed it, craved for it and now I'm finally doing it.

 My next post will be Howl's Moving Castle (2004)  by Hayao Miyazaki. A fantasy-adventure adaptation from the acclaimed novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones.


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Blog Hiatus. Sorry guys...

I think that the absence of blog posts is obvious. I won't be able to post for a while, not until the end of June that is. The Exams is taking a tole on my personal life so it seems. But I will be back...real soon.
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Paprika (2006), The everlasting dreams cutting through reality.

Directed by: Satoshi Kon | Written by: Satoshi Kon, Seishi Minakami
Produced by: Madhouse Inc.

Awards

• Best Visual Design; Chlotrudis Awards
• Prêmio da Crítica - Critic's Awards; Fantasporto
• Public's Choice Award; Montreal Festival of New Cinema
• Feature Film Award - Animation; Newport Beach Film Festival

Genre

 Science-Fiction, Thriller, Mistery 


Paprika! Once a novel written by Yasutaka Tsutsui in 1993 became a late summer anime feature film sensation by the likes of Perfect Blue (1998) and -dare I say- a more colorful reminder of Inception (2010). Being Satoshi Kon's last known feature film before his unfortunate death, it holds Kon's years of experiment and expertise fully devoted in this dream filled eye candy.
 Though generic at first Paprika (both the film and the character) catch up to it's true intention and develop a deeper sense of the collapsing dreams that overrun the psyche of many unfortunate victims.

Story

The DC mini, a small apparatus used to enter into someone else's dream when worn by both individuals, is used to explore the subconscious as a form of modern therapy. We follow the story of Paprika, an alias used by a Dr. Atsuko "At-chan" Chiba who illegally uses the said machines on patience below the radar to help it's progress. The opening of this movie is a dream of a particular psychatic patient Dectective Tonoshimi Konokawa who is haunted by the abrupt end of his dreams after chasing a mysterious figure which ends with his escape and the sight of the death of Konokawa's latest investigation min the middle of the chasing. That said scenario derails when the said invention is stolen and used by an unknown party for malicious reasons by accessing dreams without consent and taking over their state of mind in the process. The adventure that leads to the true intentions of Atsuko Chiba's peers and the exploitation of the fundamental difference of her dead-serious personality and her flamboyant dream excavation counterpart Paprika.

It may not have a particularly dept like Perfect Blue, but it did manage to entertain and prevail where it counted: the explanation of the subconscious on an understandable level. The experience witnessed by the dreams projected by the unknown terrorist in the minds of it's victims was quite a mouthful, the visuals and diversity of elements baffled me into understanding how the said victims lost their psyche and reasonably conduct in the blink of an eye. The parade of dreams controlled by one man is stunning and is hard to forget after watching this film.

However, as the story develop and more aspects of the "dream creator" where revealed , you did expect a sudden switch in style and feel knowing. Though the dream parade was enchanting and beautiful it lacked in variation and symbolism that,even when covered by the nightmares by the real terrorist, where still left unchanged. Unlike Detective Toshimi Konokawa's dream which took some turns and revelations as his character bloomed. When explored, it wen from sub-plot to absolute dream-breach as paprika's dream extase and his intertwined. I felt like they devoted more time to the signification of his dream, which was crucial for this detective nonetheless, than the collective pool of dreams that ran amok in this film even overthrowing reality itself.

Rating

8,7 - Absolute dream extacy!

Being one that has seen all of Satoshi Kon's Feature films (with a film list to tell about it), I can safely say that this -out of all his like-minded film- is the only one to literally break that tin line between reality and fantasy in a magical yet psychotic fashion keen to the eye. tough the lack of in dept signification of the many colorful, visually-enhanced elements that virtually danced on the screen in an orchestrated fashion. The time necessary for such adjustments is neglected or filled with unnecessary turmoil.

Well, that concludes this review and all of Satoshi Kon's films on this blog. Do comment below and leave feedback and visit the now completed film hub of Satoshi Kon.

M.

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