PAPRIKA (2006, Japan, 90 min.), directed by Satoshi Kon; screenplay by Seishi Minakami from the novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui; cinematography by Michiya Kato; edited by Takeshi Seyama; music by Susumu Hirasawa; art direction by Nobutaka Ike; voices by Megumi Hayashibara (Paprika/Atsuko Chiba), Toru Furuya (Tokita), Koichi Yamadera (Osanai), Katsunosuke Hori (Shima, “The Chief”), Toru Emori (Inui, the Chairman), Akio Otsuka (Detective Kogawa).  In Japanese with English subtitles.

 

 

Please jot down answers to the following questions and answer three in detail.  One of the three longer answers should be to the final question.

 

1.         Why do you think the film is titled after the character Paprika?  What kinds of expectations are created by making her the title character? 

 

 

 

 

2.         What are some of the ways in which the opening sequence of the film, focused on Detective Kogawa, set the tone of the film?

 

 

 

 

3.         The film operates within the intersection of animation, science fiction, and film noir.  What are some of the characteristics of each of these genres that this film displays?

 

 

 

 

4.         The central character in the film is Dr. Atsuko Chiba, in conjunction with her alter-ego, Paprika.  Discuss the relationship between the “two” women.  How does Chiba develop over the course of the film?

 

 

 

 

5.         Discuss the relationship between Chiba and Tokita, the oversized research genius.

 

 

 

 

6.         Discuss the DC-Mini.  What does it do, and what does it symbolize? 

 

 

 

7.         This film is of course all about dreams.  Discuss the way that the film uses dream elements, elements that one often finds in dreams.

 

 

 

 

8.         What are some of the ways in which the film brings us into the world of dreams, in which we are made to feel that we are experiencing these dreams ourselves?

 

 

 

 

9.         Another element of the film is the theme of cinema, centered around Detective Kogawa and an incident from his past.  What is going on there, and what is it seeking to say about movies and their value? 

 

 

 

 

10.       What happens in the final battle for Tokyo?  In what ways does the film’s ending bring together the various strands of the film?

 

 

 

 

11.       Describe Paprika’s animation, its visual style (think of its camera angles, use of close-ups, foreground vs. background, “lighting,” use of shadows, color, moving camera vs. editing—the standard visual things that we look at in any film).  How does it reveal itself to be first-rate animation?

 

 

 

 

12.       How is music used in the film?  How does it help create the dream-world of this film?

 

 

 

 

13.       The film has a pretty convoluted, unstable narrative.   Do you have problems following it?  Is that a problem for you? 

 

 

 

 

14.       Compare/contrast the five reviews of the film.  Which was your favorite, and why?

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