Jim's Film Festival Diary for Sunday, April 8

Films: Paprika

Future Screenings: None

I'd originally planned to see four movies on Easter Sunday, but yesterday morning I re-examined my priorities and decided to go to only one, and that one only because it was one of a handful of must-see movies in the festival for me this year. I think fellow editor Jill and I went to the same screening without realizing it, too!

Paprika
Unlike the other Phillyist staffers who've seen this film, I am a fan of anime, and am a particular fan of the work of director Satoshi Kon. His films Perfect Blue and Millenium Actress are both beautiful, fascinating, disturbing, and mighty confusing works of art about identity and the thin line between reality and fantasy - and Paprika is more of the same. The story is about the invention of a device that allows people to enter each other's dreams, and the crazy crap that goes down when the device is stolen by a terrorist with delusions of grandeur. The movie flows seamlessly from dream to reality and back with little warning, and then ultimately smashes them together in its incredible and grand conclusion (which reminded me a bit, at least visually, of the end of Princess Mononoke). But separating what's real from what's not isn't the most puzzling part of the movie. Figuring out what exactly happened and who exactly Paprika is was ultimately the most confusing part for me. But with Kon's movies, that slightly frustrating feeling of being out of your depth is mandatory, and it doesn't really take away that much from the overall enjoyment, especially when the film is as visually imaginative, fantastic, and stunningly beautiful as Paprika is. Definitely check this one out the next time it comes to theaters around here; keep an eye on the Festival Favorites, because we wouldn't be surprised to see it end up there.
Festival Rating: Very Good