29 year old Dr. Atsuko Chiba is an attractive but modest Japanese research psychotherapist whose work is on the cutting edge of her field. Her alter-ego is a stunning and fearless 18 year old “dream detective,” code named Paprika, who can enter into people’s dreams and synchronize with their unconscious to help uncover the source of their anxiety or neurosis.
At Atsuko’s lab, a powerful new psychotherapy devise known as the “DC-MINI” has been invented by her brilliant colleague, Dr. Tokita, a nerdy overweight genius. Although this state-of-art device could revolutionize the world of psychotherapy, in the wrong hands the potential misuse of the devise could be devastating, allowing the user to completely annihilate the dreamer’s personality.
When one of the only four existing DC-MINI prototypes is stolen in the final stages of research around the same time that Dr. Tokita’s research assistant Himuro goes missing, Atsuko suspects it’s not a coincidence. If the DC MINI isn’t found, this could lead to the government’s refusal to sanction the use of the machine for psychotherapy treatment. When several of the remaining researchers at the lab start to go mad, dreaming while in their waking states, haunted by a Japanese doll which featured heavily in the dreams of one of Himuro’s schizophrenic patients, Atsuko knows for sure that whoever is manipulating the machines has a more evil purpose. The DC MINI is being used to destroy people’s minds.
About the Production
From a story based on the Science Fiction novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, the Japanese literary master. The original story, Paprika, was written by the great master of Japanese literature Yasutaka Tsutsui. Tsutsui’s futuristic novels are considered to be masterpieces of the Science Fiction genre. Paprika was first serialized in the Japanese woman’s magazine Marie Claire in 1991.
Although it did not win an award, Paprika earned more popular votes than Tsutsui’s “Morning Gaspare,” which ultimately won the Japanese Science Fiction Award in 1993. As a result, “Paprika” became known as “the phantom winner of the Science Fiction Award.” It was also the last literary work that Tsutsui completed before he went on a his writing-strike to protest the excessive, self-imposed restraint of Japanese publishers.
The heroine of the story is a coolly intelligent psychotherapist with an amazing alter-ego called “Paprika,” a lively and attractive young girl who enters people’s dreams in order to understand their subconscious thoughts and help heal them.
The dream girl “Paprika” is perhaps one of the most loved characters ever created by Tsutsui, along with Kazuko Yoshiyama in “Time Travel Girl” and the telepathic Nanase Hida in the “Nanase” trilogy.
Visualization of the Impossible…
Over the years, the extraordinary adventures of “Paprika,” have attracted a number of directors who wanted to adapt the story for the screen. It was thought that Tsutsui’s imaginative creation would be impossible to translate into visual images because of the whimsical nature of the dream sequences. Tsutsui himself, however, decided that Satoshi Kon, already renowned for his uniquely original animation, was the one director who could do justice to his creation.
Satoshi Kon was already a major Tsutsui fan! The two artists first started talking at the Anime magazine Animage in 1993. Tsutsui recalls: “I asked Kon to dramatize Paprika for the screen after watching his feature “Millennium Actress” and seeing the highly creative level of animation that he was doing.”
Kon himself was already a great fan of the “Paprika” story and has been greatly influenced by Tsutsui. In fact, after the theatrical debut of his feature “Perfect Blue,” he decided he really wanted to animate Paprika for his next project. However, it wasn’t until 1993 that Tsutsui’s surprise offer made that dream a reality.
A Homage to Isutsui’s Work
Kon not only directed “Paprika” but he also adapted it for the screen from the original story. He took out many of the conceptual elements and the technical terms of psychoanalysis and created his own visual interpretation of that world. As a result, “Paprika” is a new form of animation for Kon, quite different from his trademark of creating detailed realism in his animation. His aim with this film was to create a world that would surprise the audience. Kon describes himself as a mad creator whose eccentric style creates a unique and surreal dreamlike world for the amazing adventures of Paprika.
Tsutsui also speaks very highly of Kon’s work which he acknowledges is simpler than the original story. However, there are many elements of the world that Tsutsui created that Kon loves. For example the poetic rhyme and word games heard in the language spoken by those whose dreams are disrupted. This language is unique to Tsutsui’s work and Kon wanted to preserve that. “Paprika” is Kon’s homage to the master Yasutaka Tsutsui.
Production notes provided by Sony Pictures Classics.
Paprika
Starring: Megumi Hayashibara, Tôru Furuya, Kôichi Yamadera, Katsunosuke Hori, Toru Emori, Akio Ôtsuka, Hideyuki Tanaka
Directed by: Satoshi Kon
Screenplay by: Seishi Minakami
Release Date: May 25th, 2007
MPAA Rating: R for violent and sexual images.
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $882,267 (93.4%)
Foreign: $62,648 (6.6%)
Total: $944,915 (Worldwide)