FILMS/
PAPRIKA
World Cinema
Japan, 2006, 90 minutes
SHOWTIMES
Wed, May 2 / 09:45 / Kabuki / PAPR02K
CREDITS
- dir
-
Satoshi Kon
- prod
-
Jungo Maruta, Masao Takiyama, Satoki Toyota
- scr
-
Seishi Minakami, Satoshi Kon, Yasutaka Tsutsui
- cam
-
Michiya Kato
- editor
-
Takeshi Seyama
- mus
-
Susumu Hirasawa
- cast
-
Megumi Hayashibara, Toru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori, Toru Furuya, Akio Ohtsuka, Kouichi Yamadera
- source
-
Sony Pictures Classics, 550 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10022 FAX: 212-833-8844 EMAIL: info@spe.sony.com
This sci-fi anime mind trip centers on research psychotherapist Atsuko Chiba. She uses an experimental technology called the DC Mini, which allows her to enter her patient’s dreams and synchronize with their unconscious in order to better understand their neuroses. Once in the patient’s dream state, Chiba takes on the ass-kicking persona of a "dream detective" named Paprika. While the DC Mini appears to offer limitless psychotherapeutic potential, its misuse may have devastating psychological effects. When a DC Mini goes missing, uncanny events and a search for the Mini ensue, leading to a struggle over the very fabric of reality. This thrilling adventure represents the culmination of one of the most highly anticipated collaborations to take place in the Japanese film industry. Paprika’s original story was serialized in 1991 in the Japanese Marie Claire. It became the last written work of Japanese sci-fi master Yasutaka Tsutsui before he went on a writing strike to protest the restraints imposed by his country’s publishing industry. The story was adapted for the screen and directed by the highly respected anime auteur Satoshi Kon. This cinematic pairing constitutes a "dream" team almost as fantastic as the story they present. Kon already has proven himself with anime classics such as Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika will only add to his reputation as the most dynamic director of anime working today.
—Sean Uyehara
West Coast Premiere. Sponsored by Method and Sundance Cinemas Kabuki. Presented in association with the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.