Understanding Paprika

Paprika is dense, Satoshi Kon's movie is a surreal roller-coaster into the land of dreams and we will explore what exactly that means.
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[@Stevem]

Sources Paprika (2006) Bluray Extras The Making Of Paprika A conversation about the Dreams The Dream CG World Lost HIghway (1997) Dreams (1990) From Russia with Love (1964) Beauty and the Beast (1940) Blood of the Poet (1931) Links screenanarchy.com/2006/10/paprika-interview-with-satoshi-kon.html www.syfy.com/syfywire/decoding-what-the-hell-is-going-on-in-the-anime-classic-paprika www.midnighteye.com/interviews/satoshi-kon/ konstone.s-kon.net/modules/interview/index.php?content_id=2 blog.alltheanime.com/interview-satoshi-kon/ www.midnighteye.com/interviews/satoshi-kon-2/ konstone.s-kon.net/modules/notebook/ fuckyeahsatoshikon.tumblr.com/image/140945500606 www.reeldc.com/satoshi-kon.htm screenanarchy.com/2008/07/exclusive-interview-with-satoshi-kon.html web.archive.org/web/20070528200621/www.tokyopop.com/667.html tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/SurManifesto/ManifestoOfSurrealism Manifesto www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-jean-cocteau www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/20417-excl-master-anime-tor-satoshi-kon www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061500492.htm further watching kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqWsZoGfaJeliM0 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pauXaqmHrLiiiqc&t

[@generalizedpaperfold]

Great video! is there a link to the Animerica interview?

[@Stevem]

@@generalizedpaperfold listification.blogspot.com/2016/03/interview-with-satoshi-kon-1999.html

[@venus.i]

@@Stevem I cannot thank you enough how informative and educative this video essay/lecture is. Yes, I am a Literature major , And this is my Drug✨🙈☀️

[@user-rc3cm1zv4j]

As much as I like Inception, I think Paprika gets the random and chaotic nature of dreams MUCH MUCH better .

[@Stevem]

apple and oranges really Inception is just a heist film , paprika is actually about dreams

[@user-rc3cm1zv4j]

@@Stevem True

[@Neeraj-cu8bo]

I'd give u that but in the end Inception is way better than Paprika. Paprika has some problems.

[@turntechsgodhead]

@@Neeraj-cu8boid say to each their own, paprika might have some problems but it truly has a uniqueness nothing could replicate in full

[@nathankettle357]

​@@Neeraj-cu8bo paprika is art. Inception is predictable and forgettable and wishes it was paprika

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

_"The you in you isn't the you you think is in you."_ *~ Satoshi Kon*

[@joisaita6522]

*Youception* D:

[@madrugaiden2317]

Damn, Kon left us too soon, imagine what kind of movies he would be making today.....

[@Stevem]

it might well have been family films that seemed to be his direction at the time

[@keiichimorisato98]

@@Stevem I would have been so down for that, more GOOD family films the better. I gate that trash keeps getting made, like since they are kids quality doesnt matter.

[@Stevem]

@@keiichimorisato98 I do have a theory that if Dreaming Machine had done well he might have made the transfer since the market was changing at the time, figures like Otomo were going bust at the box office , Oshii was moving away from Anime movies , for both budgetary and staff reasons.

[@keiichimorisato98]

@@Stevem meanwhile Miyazaki continues to be a power house, yeah... I can see that... Still, a Kon made family movie would be a hell of a lot better than the slop Illumination makes.

[@Stevem]

@@keiichimorisato98 doubt it would make the same kind of cash flow though , but more Kon would have been nice but that's just the cards we were handed

[@91722854]

Paprika was so enthusiastic, that throughout the whole movie, I never found her to be quite human, more like an embodiment of some sort of concept/ ideal/ an entity that is not bounded by physics, so mysterious

[@takahashierik]

Knowing that Paprika (the book) was an inspiration for Kon's other movies makes so much sense. The third act of Perfect Blue felt like the best representation of a nightmare I've ever seen in a movie

[@Stevem]

I should really get onto reading that book

[@astartesiri8184]

Paprika is amaaazing. I hope The Dreaming Machine gets finished and premiered eventually, like the studio promised Kon, but right now that movie seems to be a fading dream as the studio doesn't seem to be willing to abide.

[@Stevem]

it's a complicated problem and one where I think the approach has changed over the years Maruyama supposedly has things to announce, that is what he stated last summer. Yet he has several other projects which are taking up his time at M2 >Pluto >The Opus adaptation >Dreaming Machine/ Satoshi Kon documentary

[@acadia5898]

such a huge loss. his films still inspire me and probably will forever

[@Stevem]

Kon was one of kind

[@mechajay3358]

All of his films are wonderful but Paprika and its surrealist tone is one that truly showcases Satoshi Kon's skills as a director. Imagine if he still directed films today.

[@Stevem]

I'd always like to see Kon with all the post processing and compositing powers of today

[@mechajay3358]

@@Stevem Me too

[@rvfiasco]

Ahh...Paranoia Agent is a great companion piece to this.

[@Stevem]

Kon said paranoia agent was like all his b side ideas he couldn't get into films he didn't want them to go to waste

[@YggStudio]

Great video! I hadn't liked this film that much when I watched it because I didn't get it, but even just watching this video with the perspective I have now I understood the core of it vastly better. Great pull with that clip of Kon explaining the duality with which he views himself.

[@Stevem]

I respect the film quite a bit since it really is kon at his most confident

[@yeahsamweller8671]

Oh my gosh, Porco Rosso is MY fav Miyazaki movie too! So excited to see what’s up. I cried so hard watching Paprika, Kon’s love of cinema is so apparent it’s inspiring.

[@Stevem]

Seems like he had fun making Paprika

[@tobypiris]

You are one of my favorite content creator on youtube. I discovered City pop, Ryo Fukui and Satoshi Kon's works thanks to you. These videos are kind of hidden gems as the films and music you portray in them. I wish more people knew about this content.

[@Stevem]

Thank you Toby be my guest if you'd like to spread it around I'm hoping to talk more music in the future in a new format

[@asterios4888]

just subscribed because of this comment thanks toby!

[@sat.chid.ananda]

7:31 bro i watched this movie last night and i swear i thought "hey this soundtrack feels like it could belong in Berserk"...holy shit

[@TheBeggies95]

Same bro

[@IladRodavlas]

I really like how Kon references other movies in his films, he kind of uses them as a palette rather than just a simple reference. The ambience of The Shining is combined with the heartfelt imagery of Dreams in Paprika. It's also really interesting because it wasn't the first film he made that references both Kurosawa and Kubrick. Milennium actress also uses the mystical and historical backdrop of Throne of Blood as well as the spacey grandeur of 2001: a space odyssey. I like how he takes films and uses them as a backdrop for characters own expression.

[@thedanielstraight]

I love the undeniable fusion between Kon's work and Susumu Hirasawa's music compositions. I've been a musician for much of my life and can only *dream* of stringing notes together even remotely as interesting as "Mediational Field". I highly recommend the soundtrack.

[@Stevem]

I would recommend his work on the Berserk series too one of the all time greats of anime OSTs. His soundtrack here is for real one of the best parts of the film , unique, synthetic and catchy

[@thedanielstraight]

@@Stevem Absolutely, now I'll probably have "Forces" stuck in my head, haha.

[@Stevem]

@@thedanielstraight Theme of Guts (Gutsu) was always a personal favourite of mine

[@matten_zero]

I just watched this in theatres. Glorious experience. It is very abstract but the main take away was the reconciliation of your dreams vs reality, your inner self vs your outer self.

[@fedoragent0077]

The amazing thing about this movie is how many levels of meaning you can interpret from it! Watching this I realized new things, but also found that what I got from the movie is quite different from what you did. This is one of my favourite films wowza

[@kevineightnine6117]

I absolutely love you take on this movie!!! I recently fell in love with Satoshi Kon’s work, and I similarly saw this movie as a sort of destruction of the idea of “self control”

[@Stevem]

A whole video on his career coming soon

[@kevineightnine6117]

Can’t wait lol

[@teckzusferalupus5382]

What I understood from this video is that to understand Paprika you have, just like the movie, combine the objective logic with the not-so-exact perception of dreams and consciousness.

[@jayfolk]

straight to my satoshi kon playlist, thanks for the video

[@Stevem]

no worries Jay

[@ToasterTankX]

Great video! Paprika is one of my favorite movies of all time and I always appreciate more people shining a spotlight on it!

[@Stevem]

no worries toastertank

[@fgonzalez78959]

Song at the beginning..heavenly

[@rosafiammante5027]

In the last frames Kon was interviewed for the Italian National TV by the great Vincenzo Mollica ❤

[@grmgt]

Omg thank you so much for such a great analysis!!!

[@Star-pl1xs]

probably my favorite movie ever great job as always

[@beamantel1926]

Thank you so much for sharing you knowledge👍🙏

[@Stevem]

Oh nice cameo by Martin Scorsese in Dreams BROKE= Martin saying superhero films are just amusement park rides and not cinemea WOKE= Kon making a film to intentionally mirror a rollercoaster as a metaphor for a movie you feel rather than understand and can be enjoyed multiple times.

[@thedanielstraight]

😂

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

Yeah

[@dragonofepics7324]

STEVEM Why not both?

[@rushnerd]

Amazing video essay, Stevem. I'm not a huge anime head, but Satoshi Kon's world is something different from anyone else in the world and time has only magnified this.

[@thedanielstraight]

This is awesome, good sir, brilliantly executed. Thank you so much. You've honestly taught me so many things I didn't realize about this film and I've been watching it for what seems like eons now. Fantastic job. ^_^

[@Stevem]

Thank you Daniel I hope it was worth it ahaha

[@thedanielstraight]

@@Stevem It was more than worth it, haha, sorry for dragging you back into Madhouse! The film includes the line where Chiba insinuates Paprika doesn't exist without her, when Paprika says it is truly the other way around. I've always appreciated that duality and that exchange isn't in the book.

[@Stevem]

@@thedanielstraight The author said in the behind the scenes something along the lines of well shit i wish i had thought of that. I'll return to Madhouse again in the future for sure, it will happen

[@thedanielstraight]

@@Stevem Not to worry. You including the line in the video is what reminded me. At least it's represented, after all.

[@thedanielstraight]

Slight sidenote--It's been a couple years since I last read the "Paprika" novel. It's incredibly dense but has some interesting parts, I still prefer Kon's interpretation of the material. Tsutsui also wrote the novel for "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" (adapted into an anime and other media), as well as "Salmonella Men on Planet Porno" which is a collection of tales as obtuse as the title implies.

[@ablemiser]

Excellent.

[@Joaza998]

Just watched Paprika yesterday for this year's SLA and this video became more relavent for me.

[@hiddengemgamers9376]

Great video.

[@marvelousTUD]

I can’t get enough Satoshi Kon videos!

[@chaeyoungvideos5742]

Thank you Daniel Straight

[@matthewuchiha]

Damnit Steve, your voice is so damn pleasant to hear you keep on narrating vids you amazing narrator you

[@Stevem]

Thanks Mathew:)

[@brainglow_lightbright]

Keep it up Steve

[@IN5T1NCT66]

Need to a way to watch theses

[@FlufflesMcFloof]

I just found this guy passed away 10yrs ago... I must be out of the loop.😞

[@Armored_Ariete]

finally know what the song is and where its from

[@SlapstickGenius23]

The Paprika film also has a brief homage to films featuring Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan.

[@davidreames8752]

Roman Holiday is featured too.

[@smugryo5466]

Not gonna lie dude your the most under rated youtuber ever.

[@Stevem]

[@myczxr]

hey, stevem, something still bothers me to this day about the ending - the relationship between dr. chiba and dr. kosaku and it's role in the defeat of dr. inui. to be honest that's the only part of the movie that i just can't understand. what's your take on that?

[@Stevem]

This is a reference to Japanese folklore, they call them Baku, creatures made of loose ends of other animals that devour nightmares, The idea that both chiba and kosaku come together to be honest with each other and fill in their empty parts , two become one reborn and with that new innocence or perspective they tap into the child-like logic to devour nightmares like a Baku would

[@myczxr]

@@Stevem huh... i knew i was missing something. reminds me of the "love conquers all" theme from _interstellar_ . something like love just seems out of place, but when you look deeper, it kinda makes sense. thanks! p.s. thought of having your own subreddit/discord server for discussions and stuff like that?

[@Stevem]

I can't speak for nolan but Kon wasn't interested in making clear sense there's a patron discord but i dont know about the others

[@NitwitsWorld]

I miss these styles of anime movies. Feels like he was gone too soon. Rip. :(

[@Stevem]

Paprika was a rarity in its time as well Satoshi Kon was a one of a kind

[@NitwitsWorld]

STEVEM ain't that the truth. I hope someday there will be a successor to Satoshi Kon that follow his movie styles while making a name for themselves in the current 2020s. But I doubt that will ever happen sadly. :(

[@Stevem]

@@NitwitsWorld Kon was quite versatile all things considered I don't think something like that would happen mainly since to be blunt the animators who worked in Kons style are few and far between, they were hard enough to make 15 years ago let alone now and Kon's movies never made much money upon release

[@NitwitsWorld]

STEVEM sadly true. If only I make movies like the great Kon. Who knows?

[@Stevem]

@@NitwitsWorld influence comes around in 20 year blocks who knows , although you'd probs need to look towards france for the animators

[@TheBuddyboy69]

nice

[@van-hieuvo8208]

I still don't get what the deal with Paprika is. Konakawa and Tokita seem to have more obvious issues in real life, yet they seem to be in full control of their dream selves. Chiba on the other hand seems composed and well-put-together, but also so repressed that she just fully assumes a polar-opposite dream avatar she has no control over. The word "alter ego" used in descriptions of Paprika seems misused. Paprika seems like a full-blown dissociative personality.

[@nicomultilocke]

This feels like GDELB

[@jessieaskinazi2239]

Does anyone know what the blue butterflies symbolize?

[@b-don7930]

Wow, Porco rosso, huh? totally the best miyazaki film

[@Stevem]

im a big fan

[@thecertifieddoctor]

i loved this movie but i can't fathom why that is

[@babbisp1]

Note to self 1:37 eeaao

[@berniekatzroy]

Manic pixie dream girl

[@Stevem]

Literally, but weaponized

[@berniekatzroy]

@@Stevem Stevem when you have the time can you do a video on Studio ghibli's the wind rises?

[@Stevem]

@@berniekatzroy I have talked about it in passing in my Miyazaki retrospective, there are no plans to talk about it as a one off, but I do have a project about World War II Anime in the pipeline eventually

[@berniekatzroy]

@@Stevem works for me and love your content

[@iliveinsideyourhouse3943]

Have you seen tekkonkinkreet?

[@Stevem]

I know of it yet to watch it

[@iliveinsideyourhouse3943]

@@Stevem I recommend it.

[@MauriiciioBriito]

I would recommend the works of Yuasa if I may

[@iliveinsideyourhouse3943]

@@MauriiciioBriito Yes I watch devilman crybaby and the anime about a guy who lost his memories in a strange world (sounds likes dorohedoro lol)

[@wastucar8127]

F in the chat

[@Stevem]

FFFFFFFFF

[@thetragedyofcommons]

tokyo godfathers is way underrated

[@Stevem]

been a while since ive seen it here theres a new release coming

[@Wired4Life2]

Christopher Nolan: *_"Interesting..."_*

[@Stevem]

Jonathan Nolan*

[@Wired4Life2]

@@Stevem Him too or him entirely?

[@Stevem]

@@Wired4Life2 Jonathan is the nerdier of the two, he's read batman comics and watches anime, I generally get the feeling Christopher has never watched Paprika but his brother has I assume showed him a couple stills maybe a clip of the corridor scene but the rest of the film has no real similarity in story just in imagery refs. Christopher once said his inspiration was an old donald duck comic where they jump into a dream to steal a combination for a safe, which sounds like the most Nolan thing i could think of

[@Wired4Life2]

@@Stevem I'm still waiting on _DuckTales_ to deliberately adapt that comic just to parody _Inception _*_and_*_ Paprika._

[@Stevem]

@@Wired4Life2 Now that would be interesting

[@yourewallsareveryconvenien8292]

Just to say something. Paprika translation to Bulgarian is literally pepper.

[@LordFartamor]

:3

[@7xXSE7ENXx7]

Paprika was wife material.

[@525Lines]

The Paprika girl was inspired by the girl in Tokyo Godfathers.

[@Stevem]

source?

[@525Lines]

@@Stevem Satoshi Kon directed both Tokyo Godfathers and Paprika, as you know. I read it somewhere. Hey, I don't ask for YOUR sources. Hell, give me a minute ...

[@Stevem]

@@525Lines I give all my sources in the pinned comment and on screen...

[@525Lines]

@@Stevem Okay. Aside from the fact that they look alike, I THOUGHT I read it somewhere. Could be faulty memory or a post somewhere by someone equally ill-informed as me. Directors use the same types all the time anyway. Hardly news, I guess.

[@Stevem]

@@525Lines I'm mean I've seen both I don't really see a huge resemblance, outside they were both Satoshi Kon girls, similar hair i guess. The characters personalities are completely different and Godfathers characters have a rubbery extreme expressions that paprika doesn't, main reason i ask is like i said at the end a possible kOn doc could be coming and I need all the sources i can get

[@madrugaiden2317]

This vs Little Nemo Adventures in Slumberland? lol I've seen Paprika, it's ok but the ending was bad. Definitely not as good as Perfect Blue wich is a masterpiece

[@Stevem]

slumberland is a pretty bog standard fantasy land story they really don't use the premise in any unique way. How do you think the ending is bad ? I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone argue that before

[@madrugaiden2317]

@@Stevemi dunno, i think i was trying to make sense of everything i was seeing but really shouldn't

[@Stevem]

@@madrugaiden2317 There is sense if you want to find it although it's better to run with it, that's how most Kon movies are. Look up the tanuki that eats dreams folklore if you'd like more context but honestly just the core ideas of surrealism seem to win , outlook of child , opening yourself up to the absurd be true to yourself etc

[@Munda.in.America]

It is the most trashiest movie I have ever seen. Brain cancer inducing.

[@bfkc111]

Satoshi Kon has a few real masterpieces, however this movie and Tokyo Godfathers, which are sort of his "blockbusters" are both pretty mediocre and only have a few really good scenes. He can absolutely blow you away with his thriller or horror works. And mind you, I usually like Ghibli more (or the classic Ghost in the Shell), so I'm not your typical horror guy. I simply make a distinction in what's really good here. Paprika is just boring and strained.