Paprika (Blu-Ray)
Introduction:
"Don't you think dreams and the Internet are similar? They are both areas where the repressed conscious mind vents."
Overview & Plot:
Director Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers) has put forth one of the most thought provoking questions ever asked in an anime, what are dreams and why do we have them? Prepare to enter the realm of fantasy and imagination, reality and dreams collide in a kaleidoscopic mindscape of sheer visual genius. The tale centers on a revolutionary machine know as the DC-Mini, which allows scientists to enter and record a subject's dream and then analyze it. But after the device is stolen, a fearless detective and brilliant therapist join forces to recover it before it falls into the hands of a "dream terrorist." While the plot of this movie is at times slightly convoluted, confusing, and typically anime it never falls into the realm of blatant stereotypes. However it can be argued that Satoshi Kon did this on purpose, to stay true to the themes of his film, a dream world, and its safe to say that in the typical dream things hardly ever make perfect sense. In short this device, the DC-Mini, is stolen. The thief uses this device to enter into people's minds while awake, and distract them with their own dreams and those of others. Chaos ensues. At points the film is comical, other times disturbing but the future shock ideas and mind twisting animation really bring the film together as a whole. Satoshi Kon does touch briefly on some issues we deal with as a society but to be honest I didn't really find a deep veil of sub context in the film, but I digress, I don't want to spoil anything so that's all I'll touch on.
Presentation:
This film is gorgeous. That's all I can say. The colors are brilliant, the lines are crisp, and the animation is fluent and detailed. It's one of the most wildly inventive and wondrous films I've ever seen. As far as audio goes it does a decent job. If you don't mind reading subtitles I recommend watching the film in the Japanese Dolby True HD 5.1. The sound quality is slightly better and obviously everything syncs up properly. The English audio track is decent, one of the better dubs I've seen, however it still doesn't totally fit, and some parts of the story are lost due to the inability to translate properly. Other then the voice tracks, all the sound effects are realistic and the musical score has the ability to switch moods quicker then someone with bipolar disorder. At times the film manages to be fun, quirky, and others down right chilling, a great musical selection.
Special Features:
This section of the film is balancing on the lip of mediocre. You get your standard Filmmaker Commentary, Storyboards, and a short film on the CG used in the film (The Dream CG World) and they really don't impress all that much, however there are some gems in the features. Most noteworthy being Tsutsui and Kon's Paprika - Making of Documentary, A Conversation about the "Dream," and finally The Art of Fantasy. I found those three segments to be very interesting and entertaining. Commentary tracks are mildly amusing but really offer no new insight, same with the Storyboards. All in all I believe I paid about $32.95 for this one and I'll admit that the price doesn't really fall hand in hand with the quality. Is it a great film? Of course, it's amazing, but the price tag for me is a bit high for what I got. Had it been a couple bucks less I wouldn't have felt quite so bad.
Conclusion:
I'm going to say this is a great film, a must have for anyone who is a fan of anime for sure, and even for some who aren't. The visual presentation is truly amazing and the story line is fun and innovative and at some points down right disturbing. The film does have some issues and for some people they'll be make or break problems. However if you can look past the confusing plot line and see the film for what it really is I have no doubt in my mind you'll be amazed.
My Score: 7.75/10