'Paprika' follows Dr. Chiba Atsuko, a psychiatrist who, through a recently invented and innovating device that allows her to enter her patients' dreams, treats them on a subconscious level transforming herself into her read haired alter ego Paprika once inside their minds. Several prototypes of said artefact are stolen, and Atsuko alongside Paprika find themselves, or should I say herself, involved in a quite complicated and bizarre adventure that, however dangerous, may repair her spirit.
It's one of those films you recommend only to people you know are interested in the subjects it implicates, in this case the mind, dreams, human consciousness and strong, Alice-In-Wonderland-type visual impact. It is definitely not a movie for close minded people or audiences that are accustomed to mediocre Hollywood cinema.
It's not an easy one to watch, but if one is able to effortlessly digest its complex cinematography, whose already mentioned visual impact is accurate only due to the brilliant realism of the animation, the story, however philosophically powerful and plot-twisty, should not be a problem to process, since the symbolic meaning of each event is presented to the spectator quite digested and explicit, unlike films such as 'End Of Evangelion' or 'Akira'.
Where the movie excels is in its characters. It contains personalities whose ideals are antagonistic but both valid and worth considering. And it is there, in the triggering of a dilemma in the viewer regarding the psychological profile of each character, where the social critique and main moral message lie and where the director truly succeeds.
If you haven't seen it but are planning on doing so, expect lots of psychology, science fiction, psychedelic awesome art, suspense and of course a great end; which may question all the previous.
