When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only one person can stop it, Dr. Atsuko Chiba, a scientist by day and, and under the code name 'Paprika,' a dream detective at night.
You could sit through the film two or three times to nail down the details of the story, but the film isn't interesting enough to warrant a second look.
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
September 13, 2007
Its visual collision of mindscapes, films within films and dreams within dreams cascade into a dizzying rush that easily washes away the humdrum dialogue and somewhat sketchy plot.
Globe and Mail
June 15, 2007
We're so used to current cautious commercial formulas, it comes as an enjoyable shock to see something like Satoshi Kon's Japanese film, Paprika, which reminds us that with animation, almost anything you can imagine can be represented.
Laramie Movie Scope
October 02, 2007
The animation shows brilliant imagination by the filmmakers.
Especially for fans who understand how movies are put together, Paprika grabs you from the get-go in a series of flowing images and transitions that follow the skewed logic of a dream, jumping from a three-ring circus to a swinging jungle vine.
As a showcase of the limitless power of the imagination, Paprika never fails to delight the eye and engage the mind. We are never sure exactly whom we should be cheering for, or even if we're rooting for real characters or their avatars.
