Paprika, a new film by Satoshi Kon (1 Viewer)

[Juan C]

Some information has appeared on the new project by Satoshi Kon, one of my favorite anime directors (and also one of my favorite current filmmakers, period).

It is based on a novel by Japanese author Yasutaka Tsutsui, about a female psychiatrist/detective who solves crimes by entering into people's dreams.

A few days ago, the official movie site got on line. Unfortunately, as it is in Flash, babelfish is useless with it. However, it does contain four stills of the movie:









Official site

Teaser:
QT
Real Media
WMV

Interestingly enough, the movie hasn't got a page on imdb as of today.

It's announced for 2007. I can't wait.

 

[TheLongshot]

Thanks for the info. All of Satoshi Kon's movies are gold as far as I'm concerned.

For those not familiar with him, he makes movies about normal people in unusual situations. Illusion and flights of fantasy are a pretty signature detail about his films.

Films:

Perfect Blue (1998) - A Hitchcockian thriller about a pop idol turned actress who is stalked by an obsessive fan and people start dying around her. It very much earns its R rating and is not for kids.

Millenium Actress (2001) - A guy tracks down a reclusive actress to interview her on the eve of the studio who made her a star closing down for good. She takes them to her past, where she tells the story of a man she met when she was young, and her search for him.

Tokyo Godfathers (2003) - Three homeless people find an abandoned baby in the garbage and they go searching for the parents. Along the way, they find out a lot about themselves in the process.

Paranoia Agent (2004) - A TV series about a bat wielding kid on rollerblades who is terrorizing Tokyo, and how his attacks affect who he comes in contact with.

All of his stuff is top notch and is definitly worth seeing.

Edit: after looking at the teaser, it looks more along the lines of Perfect Blue or Paranoia Agent. I can't wait.

Jason

 

[Juan C]

And it will be in competition at the Venice Film Festival: http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/.../en/17489.html

 

[Jerry R Colvin]

Every time I see this thread title, I keep thinking we're talking about a Blue's Clues spinoff (sorry, relatively new father here)...

 

[Juan C]

Early review:

http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/007335.html

 

[TheLongshot]

A US trailer is now up: http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/paprika/

Also at the official site (www.paprikamovie.com) it looks like they have the opening credits on display as well. Pretty much what I expect from a Kon movie.

Looks like we are going to get a real theatrical release for this one, unlike Millinium Actress and Three Godfathers. Release date is May 25.

Jason

 

[TheLongshot]

So, I guess no one has seen it yet. Not too much of a surprise, since it is in rather limited release.

Well, it opened locally this week, and managed to coincide with my son spending some quality time with his grandparents, so I took the wife out to see it.

Dr. Atsuko, along with her colleagues, have invented a device where one can enter someone else's dreams and record them. Dr. Atsuko hopes to use the device to help people who have psycological problems, but someone has stolen the device and is uploading dreams to people and making them go mad. It is up to Dr. Atsuko and her dream alter ego, Paprika, to get to the bottom of this problem.

One movie that comes to mind after watching this film was the 80s film "Dreamscape", which has a similar type of plot. But, subject matter like this is probably best suited for the animated realm and Kon takes full advantage of it. He really seems to capture the nature of dreams, including time compression. The movie is only 90 minutes long, but it feels longer, and that's actually a good thing.

He also plays with our expectations somewhat, going in directions that you weren't quite expecting.

While in some cases I think he's treading on some familiar ground here (echoes of "Perfect Blue" and "Paranoia Agent" come through), it is still a joy to watch. Highly recommended.

Jason

 

[Jason Seaver]

I saw it a couple weeks ago; I liked it a lot. Loved it, really, despite its occasional flaws.

 

[Edwin-S]

I would really like to see this film but the chances of it making its way into my local cinema.....zero. The local theatre couldn't even be bothered to bring in "Letters from Iwo Jima", so there is no way this one will darken the doors of the local "Famous Players".

I'm stuck waiting for it to come out on DVD or, I hope, one of the HD formats.

 

[Brook K]

Hmm, I liked Perfect Blue but didn't really care for Millenium Actress...this looks worth checking out though.