From the opening scene to the last, it is clear that Paprika is Satoshi Kon's own paradoxical confession. His new film, an exhilarating, mind-blowing and audaciously satisfying anime, is about Paprika, the peppy dream-detective alter ego of the cold-as-ice Dr. Atsuko Chiba (Megumi Hayashibara), who, after hearing about the theft of the D.C Mini—an object that allows for dream eavesdropping—is forced to stop the dream invader using the actual hacking people's dream sleep as well as stop the dreams that are merging among them. Although Kon's narrative is more complicated than anything imagined, one must realize it is a dream. And don't dreams progress in such a way? Paprika's brilliance comes from Kon's breakneck attention to tempo. Switching from REM sleep to real life, his narrative is so aesthetically developed that it's no wonder that it is so entertaining. Also his ability to shape his characters—specifically Chiba—into cold, one-dimensional characters recalling noir. More than that, however, Paprika is proof of the Japanese advancement in the animated genre that truly leaves American counterparts stuck in the sandbox.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Paprika (2006): B+
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3 comments:
I would recommend some editing for this review. There are a couple of words that seem to be floating around in sentences, and, while it is a very minor issue, it would polish up the review if you edited these small things out.
Also, it is immediately clear that you have a lot to say, and are eager to say it. This eagerness shows in your writing, and while it is commendable that you can convey this feeling, it also leads to some problems. For example, the second sentence, in my opinion, could probably be edited a little. You are establishing some details about the film as well as the plot of the film, but it is done hastily, perhaps in an effort to get your thoughts out. The result, however, is a slightly disjointed sentence, that is far more complicated than it needs to be, and has a couple of minor grammatical errors.
That being said, you also have a couple of fragmented sentences, but again, you convey a sense of eagerness in your reviews that makes one want to see the film you are describing. Your use of phrases such as "stuck in the sandbox" makes the review funny, as well as enjoyable, but the disjointed sentences and small errors detract from the writing, so I would put a little more into editing before posting next time.
Just on the side- feel free to delete these comments about editing if you have read them or feel they are unnecessary, because they are not necessarily about the subject of the reviews, so if you would like to make room for comments about the actual content of the review, please do so.
Well, first off, thanks so much for the tips. It's kind of you to take the time to point out errors in writing, in turn basically helping me out. Yes, indeed, I really need an editor, as you can clearly see. Unfortunately, I only had one for part time last year - a month really - and this one was just after my old editor sort of gave up on them. (For some reason, I think this is you writing.) But to me, however, writing is something you get better as you keep on doing it, and these reviews you picked were around last April. Clearly, they are seriously flawed, and all that you say is basically stuff that I am still trying to work on.
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