Paprika
The plot was amazing, so unique and engaging, completely nonsensical but somehow so interesting. It made sense without making sense, or perhaps it didn’t make sense but it made sense that it didn’t. The characters were pretty well written, the psychology behind Atsuko and her second personality is very interesting. It’s ambiguous, perhaps one’s the idealized version of herself, or maybe it’s a defense mechanism of some sort. The pacing was nearly perfect, the scenes were fun and light, it was short movie but still didn’t feel diluted. The ending went a bit quick however and posed more questions than answers. The world building I can say with complete confidence is perfect, it’s beautifully done and clever. It’s sensical in its nonsense, it doesn’t make any sense but still has some basic guidelines surrounding it. The themes aren’t super prevalent in this movie, but are still somewhat noticeable. It has a lot to do with reality and fiction blending, not taking reality to serious but not sinking into fiction. It’s a fascinating balance that Kon could do spectacularly. The animation was gorgeous, the scenes were clever and just so incredibly unique. Kon said that he chose animation over live-action because he could fit in more frames per second, he exhausted this idea perfectly. As for emotions, it’s a bit difficult. This movie isn’t made to make you feel a certain way, it’s really meant to give you some food for thought, but it gives a wonderful sense of thrill through its wild scenes and crazy storyline. This movie is so incredibly unique, only one movie is anywhere close to this one and that is Inception, which is essentially a water-down version of this movie. It’s just so odd and beautiful, it’s just completely contrary to so many rules of storytelling, yet does perfectly. The dialogue didn’t stand out particularly to me, but it was hardly bad or mediocre. It was just a tad underwhelming, which I didn’t mind because I was more focused on everything else going on in the first place. Overall, this movie is amazing as always. Each time I watch it, I realize something new and come closer to understanding this film, I hope I never do though.
Plot - 10
Characters - 8
Pacing - 9
Worldbuilding - 10
Themes - 7
Animation or Cinematography - 10
Emotional Impact - 8
Uniqueness - 10
Dialogue - 7
Overall Enjoyment - 10
Total: 89%