The Beauty of Surrealism in Paprika

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: / alexenterprises
This is my video essay on Paprika, please enjoy and be sure to watch the film for yourself before the video so as to not hinder your viewing.
Many thanks,
Alex.

[@alexenterprises1]

Early access + Patreon exclusive Satoshi Kon video for $1 - www.patreon.com/AlexEnterprises

[@tieler151]

AlexEnterprises1 can you do monster and serial experiment. If not ethier can you do fate zero

[@alexenterprises1]

For monster & fate/zero go and watch aleczandxr. For serial experiments lain watch digibro. I try not to make videos that have already been done by others and they've covered these things quite extensively.

[@Funky-dude681]

im scared to see the rst of the channel because im assuming they quit i hope not

[@gorrthePatrickBateman]

People who say Inception was complex would lose there mind after seeing Paprika

[@a.a677]

Yes.

[@rynsart]

Isn't Inception Inspired by Paprika?

[@gorrthePatrickBateman]

@@rynsart yep

[@Dr.P3rverticus]

Their

[@bogdan-mihaibratianu2548]

For me, Paprika's last 10-15 minutes will always remind me of one thing: love (for a person or your own work) can originate in fiction (i.e dreams), but love itself can save you from the delirium of your worst nightmares.

[@thefluffyaj4119]

i was so suprised when they set up a romance with chiba and tokito! pleasently so! you barely ever see conventionally "ugly" people set up in romances, and when it is done its usually played off as a joke or bad or something. the movie doesnt shy away from the fact that tokita is obese, and hes shown eating a lot and other people chiding him for doing so. but this is never really portrayed as a reason to hate or dislike him in the film. like, yes his obesity is apparent, but hes shown as just as much of a person as all the other characters. and that scene with him and chiba in the end made me so emotional and happy! chiba talked to him fondly and a little nagging, but in a caring way. it shows that people like tokita can and are loved, and deserve/ are capable of it. his weight is never the subject of a joke, only really brought up in light teasing and worried remarks from others. the same goes for hana in tokyo godfathers. doesnt shy away from the reality of being a trans woman, especially a homeless one (i enjoy a lot of representations of trans people today but a lot of them are seen with rose colored glasses. which is fine, trans people are definetly capable of living happy lives, but its nice to see another very real narritive. shes given a real character with both good and bad traits, dreams, and hardships she must face like any other person. i love satoshi for both his amazibg works and his ability to portray many people, regardless of who they are and what stereotypes that might be pushed upon them, as real people who are just as real as anyobe else

[@alexenterprises1]

Absolutely, we’ll put! I’m literally scripting a Tokyo Godfathers analysis for this Xmas as we speak haha. Kon truly was one of a kind.

[@thefluffyaj4119]

@@alexenterprises1 oh ill be sure to watch it, i havent seen any commentary on tokyo godfathers despite how good he is and how influential hes been! theres just something so special about his works, is just a tragedy he died, but ill cherish his works and his time here forever

[@thefluffyaj4119]

also, i loved this video! you brought up a lot of good points. i also adore surrealism, especially as an artist myself.

[@mayankbisht7691]

For me it came out of nowhere, without any build-up but what you say is also right.

[@thefluffyaj4119]

@@mayankbisht7691 yea I can see that! romances in movies are often rushed if the movie isn't all about romance. they only have an hour or so after all. i think they handled it as well as they could without letting it interfere with the main plot, cuz I hate when stories that aren't about romance do that

[@kurdtcoben]

Paprika's dreamlike setup made me tear up from the pure beauty of the intro alone. It's such a weird movie that ultimately goes nowhere in the end but it still (or because of that) is such a magical, pleasant experience. I only ever watched this movie because Susumu Hirasawa was credited with the soundtrack and I immediately fell in love with it. After I then found out that the director had died a few years back, I was absolutely devastated. It's a genuine shame to see the work of someone so hopeful and positive and then find out that you can't ever thank that person for brightening your life. But I still want to thank him dearly. So here's to Satoshi Kon, a man who loved deeply!

[@harjitkumar917]

gosh i just watched this today and yes, the intro song made me feel things i didn't wanna admit feeling. weirdly beautiful indeed ❤️

[@AnthonyTrifoglio]

Anyone else notice the haunting irony in that the Detective's high school film friend was an extremely well liked and tallented film maker who died at a young age of, I believe cancer... only for Satoshi Kon to die 4 years after the movie's release, also of cancer?

[@richardblack3385]

Ooof

[@nkk.4073]

yo....

[@loveisallyouneed6509]

i cant believe he is dead, i didnt know. i makes me so sad when something like this happens.

[@alexenterprises1]

Yeah, I only learned of it like the week before making the video - it's so sad. If he had a full life of around 60+ years who knows what he would have created :( at least we have what he left us with. And at least with Paprika he truly gave us room to dream.

[@loveisallyouneed6509]

i think you right, we should look at what he gave us and enjoy the dream he gave to us.

[@CAGonRiv]

The feels in these comments, man...bringing alot of emotion and nostalgia by hearing the Paprika OST in the background of the video.

[@DHvids5196]

yeah only found out once i finished paprika with my roomate

[@Dark_SQRL]

if there is anything we were thought, much of him will continue to live within us, he has formed our collective thoughts, everyone who watched his movies.

[@AndySenpai]

What was the depth in paprika (the characters story)? For me it was just she wasn’t being true to herself, and being strict with everything in life, while her other self paprika had more spice in her life. Later on she accepts everything like her love for the guy and basically becomes whole like a fusion with paprika. I didn’t think much of the murder mystery either I mean I just saw it as a self reflection of the guys past and his regrets of not finishing that movie. To me it wasn’t like he was trying to solve a murder mystery rather he was trying to solve his past trauma

[@FancyTophatDude]

Yes that's one layer. Looking strictly at the protagonist's character arc. But every character here has a different relationship to dreams. Both as in ambitions and as actual dreaming. If you solely wanna look for other character development, most side characters go through some sort of progress, but Kon's work is mostly meant to be seen on multiple layers. the film also comments on desires, dualities, death, restriction, japanese society, media and its creation and much more. You can choose to look past all that, but it informs the characters and the movie itself immensely.

[@hammedburger9861]

I think this film has multiple character arcs merged into one, much like real life. I believe that Paprika was the emotional side of China that she was trying to hide by keeping a cool exterior. I personally think she did this so she wouldn't be crushed by the pressure in the workplace, but eventually her vulnerable side shows and she finally embraces her emotional side. By the end of the movie she has finally confessed to Takito, and has grown as a person.

[@nabe8771]

Author of paprika,Yasutaka Tsutsui's novel is often funny. According to wikipedia, it is said that he was IQ 178 in the intelligence test at elementary school.

[@alexenterprises1]

My god, that's incredible. I need to read his work.

[@hyperanthropos6716]

I had 1000 IQ.

[@AndySenpai]

Just watched this movie the other day, but bro the detective wasn’t chasing any murderer lmaoo he was basically finishing his old movie that he never finished with his friend, and he would blame himself for not finishing the movie. Until he finishes it in his dream

[@boyuzhao4920]

Andy Senpai he wasn’t chasing his friend, that friend was himself. He has multiple personality

[@SumitKumar-dh3gh]

thanx for spoiler

[@JUNKIngeniero]

@Victory Adajar i think its the detective using the image of his friend to tell himself that he needed to overcome that guilt

[@elfsieben1450]

"Paprika" is one of the best sci-fi films ever made, together with "Living in Oblivion" it is also one of the best films ever made on the topic of dreams, and together with "Dark City" it surely is one of the best films ever made on the topic of identity, illusion and/or reality of personality. All three movies are very self-aware of the language of film and its similarity to dream logic. There is a meta level inherent to them; hence the mundane (everyday aspirations, inspirations and reflections) become surreal (dreamy & nightmarish visions) and the surreal becomes hyperreal (as the lines between form and function, utopia/dystopia and blueprints of reality begin to blur), these films (while being philosophical at the core) become larger-than-life visions of life on the screen.

[@dawsondjodvorj2408]

Inception is better

[@madhumantibagh669]

@@dawsondjodvorj2408 in ur dreams

[@Lost20048]

@@dawsondjodvorj2408 lol

[@superduper5698]

Holy cow... I just had a dream about this movie last night... are you reading my mind Alex??? I really enjoyed the editing in this video, also your voice is really chill, it makes me forget my problems.

[@alexenterprises1]

Thanks Tori, that's really bizarre as another commenter has also apparently dreamt of this movie last night and woken to this video XD. I'm glad you enjoyed 👍🏼

[@LinaLouice]

I actually started shipping Atsuko and Tokita early on and I was sure that Konakawa will end with Atsuko but I was screaming so happily when that hug scene came T_T it was truly a beautiful movie!

[@iloveblondy]

This movie is one of my all time favorite Childhood memories. The Visuals along with the Music captivated me for years after. Perfect in every way.

[@traz2860]

Damn, just discovered this channel, this man deserves way more subs, these literary comparisons with Paprika, Berserk and others are genuinely relevant, can't wait to see more

[@alexenterprises1]

Thank you so much, I'm genuinely humbled.

[@FancyTophatDude]

I never had any movie just make me love film and the stories we can tell so much. It really felt like a revelation in every aspect working in tandem to talk about dreams, aspirations and telling those dreams in film.

[@pbabiesinspace6112]

I had to watch this movie 4 times before I truely got it. I just watched it for the 5th time...and it made me cry. It is so so so so good. 100 stars out of 5. I hate the chairman...but I would love everyone's dreams and reality to merge into one. Chaotic beauty. In my screwed up mind...heaven. Long live your dreams.

[@simonohlund4109]

One of the best video essays I've seen honestly. Great work!

[@alexenterprises1]

Thanks so much! Genuinely so glad to hear it :)

[@hemangandhi4596]

I interpret the dreaming kids as Tokida, Chiba, and Osanai. This is a bit fraught, but I think of it that way because it also ties together with the kid Dr. Chiba we see at the very end. Unrelated: the book is really different and isn't a as character-driven, but definitely a more grounded exploration of the concepts.

[@duongbinh211]

Great video! I still wonder why none of my friends put this movie on their watchlist when I recommend. This video might persuade them. Thank you so much. Subscribed.

[@annamae6021]

Rest in peace Satoshi Kon

[@UniQueLyEviL]

UGH. RIP so hard. I miss him so much. I loved every thing he created.

[@georgelucas8815]

Honestly man i would love to see more berserk history from you.you do a amazing job on it

[@CAGonRiv]

This video brings the Porthos out of me!!! Ay AlexEnterprises1, we love you for this bro.

[@alejandrodelarco2630]

Man, the quality of your videos is so fucking good, you would have to reach a million subscribers (at least) to be fairly rewarded.

[@minch333]

Great video, thank you very much for making it!

[@kinghashbrown7998]

i remember my dad showing me this movie when i was like 8 or 9, i had absolutely no clue what was going

[@XX-sp3tt]

3:30 To its credit, Samurai Champloo wasn't about invincible badasses crushing the forces of evil. Its protagonists were deeply flawed individuals but not to the point of being loathsome as many western adult animations.

[@MrMax1492]

Great video, hope you can make more like this in the future.

[@alexenterprises1]

Thank you for the comment, I hope I can too buddy.

[@lunathehusky2450]

Love that someone made a video of my favorite anime film of all time

[@makotoyuki345]

Ah I finally found the movie that’s gave me those weird dreams since I was 8

[@nanananananananananananana9430]

Hey, man, could you possibly make a video on Perfect Blue? There is a lot to say about that film. Btw, great video.

[@alexenterprises1]

Super Eyepatch Wolf made a good video on it, I’d say check that out.

[@nanananananananananananana9430]

@@alexenterprises1 I already did watch but I am more interested on hearing your own opinion about the film.

[@alexenterprises1]

The thing is, I tend to get called an Eyepatch Wolf clone a lot. I recommended him because I avoid making videos on the same topics as his. Because of this, I also won’t be making a video on Perfect Blue.

[@engineeredarmy1152]

@@nanananananananananananana9430 Nice name

[@nanananananananananananana9430]

@@engineeredarmy1152 Thankies. Thought it was a bit funny and clever

[@odt.gaming6737]

loooooove your work ma guy! awesome stuff!! keep at it, will spread the word. its a sub from me

[@MichaelStrawn_I_am]

Awesome video!

[@visualmedia6879]

Excellent review and breakdown analysis of this movie. Well done.

[@Butterflywings011]

This has to be one of the best anime films I've seen in years, one that I'll definitely re-watch again

[@XX-sp3tt]

7:02 It doesn't reject it, it just says it doesn't have to be the ONLY way to tell stories.

[@samsungphone1326]

Do a paranoia agent video!!!!

[@STOCKHOLM07]

Great video.

[@mamamatthew89]

Great video 👍

[@manaskhadke9776]

Wonderful video👍

[@gumquat]

great content :)

[@bijoychandraroy]

Rest in Peace Legend

[@wido7676]

Paprika was an amazing experience

[@andrewcarlson3486]

Its like taking lsd while watching inception

[@Dracopol]

0:40 Guillaume Apollinaire. The first name is pronounced gee-YOME (hard g, long o).

[@jadejaguar69]

This^

[@user-sz8pu4nx7t]

Очень интересное видео, спасибо

[@rynocerusrex5050]

Unpopular opinion from a kid born in 2005: despite Paprika surpassing all the new movies or the ones I grew up with as my favorite movie, Evangelion is still just okay, DiTF is better and Gurren Lagann really do be on Toppa all yo Tengen

[@fishyfish6510]

The pacing in this movie was just too much for me to wrap my head around so much I couldn't enjoy it. So here I am in a video essay about it😆

[@a.a677]

Same

[@larasbigmac77]

Paprika, that's why I love surrealism

[@viggofromyoutube710]

Watched Paprika on shrooms I thought I understood the bigger picture of the movie but then it ended and I was like wtf.

[@conradwright6408]

What is the song used in the beginning of the video? 0:40

[@robertjordan355]

Hmm not quite. I wouldn't describe Paprika as a fundamentally 'Surrealist' work. It certainly contains surrealist imagery, but there is a coherent narrative throughout that is completely at odds with the nonsensical focus of surrealist art, which often arises out of an 'automatic' conceptual approach that seeks to 'unmask' the artist's unconscious. Secondly, the 'Real' world and the 'unreal' dream world are clearly demarcated in the film, to the extent that they are able to begin to 'merge' (hence suggesting their prior separation) towards the end of the film. In fact, the film ends with Paprika rescuing the Real from the Chairman's expanding dreamworld. Thus the film ends in a state that denies the aesthetic framework of surrealism a space in which it might appear. I think you've missed the mark here. Might I suggest that a better approach to understanding this film would be to look at it through the lens of Baudrillard's concept of hyperreality? Then the film becomes very fascinating indeed.

[@alexenterprises1]

I wouldn't say you've derailed this reading of Paprika at all to be honest, coherence is entirely irrelevant to the existence of surreality, the film doesn't finish with the scene you point out, it finishes with a Cinema, and a meta one at that, alongside being a borderline speechless moment - how can that deny a space for surrealism? The film very much invites a surreal reading. Instead of trying to derail my analysis, perhaps you'd like to assert your take on hyper-realism? After all, multiple film analyses can co-exist without the need to dismantle each other.

[@robertjordan355]

@@alexenterprises1 the film is indebted to, influenced by surrealism; it has a surreal aesthetic in places. However there is an undeniable *logic* to the playing out of the narrative, the motivations of characters etc that is incompatible with the *illogic* at the heart of the surrealist movement. As for my own interpretation, I see the film as a commentary on the postmodern thinker Baudrillard's concept of hyperreality, the idea that, in our information age, media such as films and the internet not only distort our perception of the 'real' world but actually destroy our ability to distinguish between the 'real' world and systems of simulation and the 'unreal' entirely, as we live out our lives according to a simulated code of behaviour and modes of perception learnt through intense over-exposure to cultural media. Insofar as the 'unreal' (film, internet, media culture) distorts, masks, makes inacessbile the real, it becomes 'hyperreal'. Paprika is a fascinating commentary on this phenomenon. As you pointed out, the film is meta in some aspects. At the start Paprika uses the analogy of types of film, artsy shorts vs high budget blockbusters, to describe other forms of sleep compared to REM sleep. An aesthetic, cultural code is therefore being used to describe human phenomena: dreams. The police investigator's entire arc hinges upon a film that he created in his teens. The flashbacks to this film thus allow us to experience his emotional turmoil as a series of film scenes, *within* the film itself. His dreams are made up of scenes from various films (Tarzan, Roman Holiday etc.). Thus his psyche has been shaped by over-exposure to the medium. His friend says to him, "you may not have made the film, but you *lived* it". Indeed, he played a cop in the film of his youth and now he is one. Thus, we live our lives according to the laws of film, of the unreal. At the film's end, the police investigator goes to watch a film. Thus, we too live out the film, purely by watching it, as film-watching is an intrinsic element of the film's code itself. Another important experience of hyperreality concerns the internet. Paprika tells the investigator "the internet is like dreams". When the investigator is in the bar towards the end of the film, he is certain that it is the virtual online bar that paprika showed him that he accesses through his computer at work. It is, however, suggested that the bar is now real. Real and unreal and their lines of demarcation become blurred; the hyperreal is experienced. The central blurring component of the film (Dreamworld vs real world) might best be understood as allegory: it represents the actual blurring that is going on in our lives, the hyperreal blurring of unreal forms of media with our real lives. Hyperreality is increasingly becoming a point of concern as we get deeper and deeper into the information age. Whereas, whilst it certainly has reverberated through the 20th century and continues to influence artists today, the surrealist movement is, I believe, rather historically bound to the (early) 20th century. If an artist (filmmaker) was to come out with a piece of purely surrealist art today, it wouldn't turn many heads: we've seen such art before. Kon is not doing this. His work is not surreal, but hyperreal.

[@xmk4224]

@@robertjordan355 that's a great, very solid analysis of the masterpiece Paprika is.

[@frankomar12]

@@robertjordan355 Appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks.

[@robertjordan355]

@@frankomar12 glad to hear that :)

[@happymaskedguy1943]

One of the few anime films in which I prefer the English dub.

[@binarakr]

Inception can be understand, but paprika can't

[@Sen.100]

I don’t even know what I watch tbh I just want to know what was going on

[@kentokenyama3449]

Am I the only one having a crush on Moiro Osanai?

[@Zinwaq]

0:18 it would have been very nice if you listed or rather labeled what movies/shows these are clips are from. 0:30 false, Paprika was not his last film though it was his last completed film. Dream Machine was his last (still to this day due to lack of funding) sadly uncompleted movie with 600 shots of 1500 done.

[@alexenterprises1]

In the video I literally say that his last completed film is Paprika and dedicate the last several minutes to Dreaming Machine 🤣

[@ballsdeep-nu1xp]

inception the anime

[@elfsieben1450]

Paprika goes deeper than Inception. And it came out before Inception.

[@unknownherrscher]

paprika live action actually

[@danielflagg9160]

dali work is a master piece of shit

[@Lola-io9kt]

Paprika in hungarian meens peper you know the vegtable

[@jadejaguar69]

That's what it means in Japanese also

[@Lola-io9kt]

@@jadejaguar69 and that must mean we are rlitive lenguges?

[@JustCallMeHeavy]

This will probably be like a Eyepatch Wolf video.

[@alexenterprises1]

I hate it when people automatically see big channels' videos as the de-facto type of video. Give it a watch, it's nothing like his video on perfect blue and was never supposed to be. SEW has never even covered surrealism, as far as I'm aware.

[@aroace7913]

@@alexenterprises1 What I also hate about this is that this view often ignores that people have different opinions when it comes to art and especially films and to lump all people together is pretty ignorant.

[@lizc1616]

So many commercials, couldn't finish it

[@alexenterprises1]

Every vid on youtube is like this now unless you get KZbin premium, even Adblock doesn’t work as well as it used to.

[@nihilism6226]

@@alexenterprises1 What the hell, I use ublock origin and have zero ads, you guys should upgrade your tech skills from 1990 to 2021.

[@sarahgerbasi2549]

nolan could never

[@arenkai]

Paprika ? You mean that Inception rip-off ?!?§§,!:,!?§?!,!?§?

[@tieler151]

arenkai no inception rip this off as well as parts from his other film . Perfect blue. Do your research Christopher has multiple interviews and commentaries saying this though he tries to act like he was paying omash

[@tieler151]

Also Christopher Nolan though I like some of his work he can only dream that he coulake something this unique and creative

[@arenkai]

Guys... Chill... That was a joke... I thought the weird punctuation would have given that away :( Paprika is one of my favourite animated movies ever alongside Perfect Blue so I know a fair bit about Hollywood "paying hommage" to japanese animation ;D Black Swan anyone ?

[@SumanTiwariNamaste]

@@arenkai No. That was a Ignorant. A pure ignorance of the purity japanese animation. You should be ashamed of laughing-off at people's hardwork.

[@elfsieben1450]

What did "Black Swan" steal from?