Paprika is a film about dreams – the ones we talk about, the ones we think we can keep to ourselves and the ones exposed by a new technology that allows others to enter and even control our dreams.
When glacially beautiful scientist Atsuko creates an alter ego for her secret dream therapy work, she’s Paprika – feisty, fearless and fifteen years younger. If the technology that enables the work fell into the wrong hands, the outcome could be fatal. Then it’s stolen. As reality begins to unravel, Atsuko’s team and one of her patients have to put things right.
A dazzling visual experience wrapped around a densely layered story, the film is based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, one of the director’s favourite authors. Kon and Tsutsui both have minor voice roles. It was the last film Kon completed, and its dreamlike beauty, energy and optimism stand as a fitting memorial to the gifted artist who died in 2010 of pancreatic cancer.
Japan 2006 Dir Satoshi Kon 87 min Digital presentation
Screening in Japanese with English subtitles
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