Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

Genre: Fantasy, Psychological, Sci-Fi
Animation Production: Madhouse Studios

This was my first time seeing such a wonderful feature length animation movie since Spirited Away. I could really relate to this movie and was blown away by its great concept and the way it grasps the audience into it. Speaking of Spirited Away, I guess you could say this was quite similar to it. No, it’s not a Miyazaki film, but it’s from a certain someone known as Satoshi Kon. I dunno about the rest of you, but I never actually heard of him until this movie. Maybe I caught a few instances of his other great works like Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress or Perfect Blue, heck I didn’t know the guy was responsible for the mysterious Paranoia Agent. The high responses intrigued me to see it. Well, other than the fact that my sister wanted to see it, and I would not have any thought of it if she hadn’t asked. But that’s besides the point. Anywho, a synopsis of the movie first.

28-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 device known as the “DC-MINI” has been invented by her brilliant colleague, Dr. Tokita, a nerdy genius who is rather too fond of his food. Although this state-of-the-art device could revolutionize the world of psychotherapy, in the wrong hands the potential misuse of the device could be devastating, allowing the user to completely annihilate the dreamer’s personality while they are asleep.

When one of the only four existing DC-MINI prototypes is stolen in the finals stages of research, and simultaneously Dr. Tokita’s research assistant, Himuro, goes missing, Atsuko suspects it’s not a coinidence. Several of the remaning researchers at the lab start to go mad, dreaming while in their waking staets, haunted by a Japanese doll which featured heavily in the dreams of one of Himuro’s schizophrenic patients. Atsuko now knows for certain that the DC-MINI is being used to destroy people’s minds. She fears that not only will the government refuse to sanction the use of the machine for psychotherapy purposes when it becomes public, but whoever is manipulating the machines has a more evil purpose in mind.

The idea of entering a person’s dream is practically a dream itself. It’s truly inconceivable to fully understand the human psyche. Emotions and thoughts can never be conveyed in a way we can see it. That’s why the invention of the DC Mini in this movie really caught my attention. As a technophile, I’ve always wanted to create some device that would be revolutionary. Heck, I’ve always wanted to store my dreams into videos and watch them on the computer myself. That’s exactly what this DC Mini is. Basically, it’s like an accessory attached on your head with clippings that register the thought waves, or in this case, what you’re currently dreaming. This psychotherapy machine is what is supposedly the key to help patients and their problems.

In this story, a man called Konakawa has the same dream where he discovers a murder scene. Through the aid of Paprika (played by the famous Megumi Hayashibara) he slowly learns the truth to this. At the same time, one of the DC Mini prototypes have been stolen. Misusing this device by invading another person’s dream is a no-no. Eventually it would cause mental disorder and the government will never have these devices made public. The chairman of the company involved with the project was nearing to shutting it down, as it would be a threat to the people and their privacy. It’s up to Atsuko and her ally, the morbidly obese “genius in a kid’s body,” who by the way is the creator of the DC Mini, to search for this “psycho-terrorist” and stop him.

The real great part about the film were the visuals. Madhouse sure did a number on the amazing dream sequences. You could say it’s a mix of Spirited Away’s abnormal characters, Welcome to the NHK!’s wacky visuals (recall that Satou was talking to his house appliances), added with the great art detail by the studio. Within the mind, the “dream detective” Paprika can mend and blend, and do anything with that 18-year old appearance. One of my favorite scenes is when she is in a Monkey King type get-up riding a cloud and holding a staff. Anything can happen in a dream as long as it’s that person’s dream, so you can set your imagination to limitless paths.

As the storytelling progresses further, reality and fantasy suddenly slip and begin to converge, victimizing the people, including the workers at the company. If you’re seeing this, get ready for some nice, appealing 2D/3D visuals, a neat theme song, and an exceptionally amazing concept. The only thing that would keep you from watching this is that it may be deemed very weird to most people. But that shouldn’t be taken in too deep. These are dreams, and in dreams, it’s always gonna be a little weird, wouldn’t you say? After seeing this, I’d sure like to have Paprika visit me in my dreams. Kon’s sci-fi/fantasy idea of Paprika astounded me. It’s no wonder the man is praised. Everyone should definitely look into this. If you can’t see it in a theater, there is a torrent out there… That’s all I’m saying on that. BTW, this movie was rated R. *cough* Overall, I give it an B+.

Link:
PAPRIKA | A FILM BY SATOSHI KON | A SONY PICTURES CLASSICS RELEASE