Rewatching "Paprika"

[Spiros Bousbouras]

The first time I watched the movie I loved the visuals and the music but I
was frustrated because the plot seemed to be incoherent. That's not
automatically a bad thing in my book but the initial impression you get
from the dialogue is that there is a specific problem to be solved and it
will be solved following the appropriate rules and procedures for the
universe of the movie. But as the movie progresses there don't seem to be
any rules , anything can happen at any time including the final
confrontation. With subsequent watchings I learned not to worry. I watched
it again a few days ago in Japanese and with no subtitles although I don't
speak the language. I loved it. I also watched the director's commentary
on the DVD and at 13:20 Kon says

While watching the film the part of my brain which analyses rhetoric
decided to shut off. And suddenly the film became a lot more fun to
watch. So I just let the visuals consume me. It felt like I was fully
experiencing the film even though I wasn't paying attention to the
dialogue.

So this seems to be the best way to enjoy it. In fact , I think it would
be good if there was a kind of "remix" of the film where there is no
dialogue and possibly more music added. The commentary says that the lyrics
of the song at the end titles don't make any sense.

As for the visuals , at least 50% of the frames would make a great poster.
If I had entrepreneurial aspirations , I would see how I could obtain
the appropriate licenses to print posters from frames of the movie and
then sell them.

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