Paprika

Ego Baby
Originally uploaded by punk_rock_baby.

Dreams. Hopes. Wishes. Desires.

I love Satoshi Kon. He does amazing things with anime and is one of the directors I can point to illustrate that anime is a valuable genre capable of doing amazing things. Last night I saw “Paprika” which was being showed as part of the Chicago International Film Festival(which I love). “Paprika” revolves around dreams, hopes, wishes, desires, and balance. Balance is a key issue here. Kon himself does a good job of balancing insight without getting too heavy. Nothing is really startlingly new or inventive, but rather playful and possess questions but not answers. It’s a movie that tickles your mind, while entertaining your senses. Overall, it’s interesting although the story is some what compacted and slightly crammed due to the fact it’s an adaptation of a novel. It doesn’t have the seamlessness of some of his other works, but is still very good. The “What the fuck?” aspect of his work wasn’t really there since I am used to him playing with his audience a great deal more than in this film. (I say, “What the fuck?” since that is the general reaction of people to his work.) If you haven’t seen his other work, do. “Millennium Actress” is still one of my favorite films. Amazing.