Paprika

## Paprika **Paprika** is a 2006 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon, based on Yasutaka Tsutsui's 1993 novel of the same name, and produced by Madhouse. It was Kon's final completed film before his untimely death in 2010, and it represents the fullest expression of his obsessive interest in the permeable border between imagination and reality. Christopher Nolan's *Inception* (2010) has frequently been compared to *Paprika*, which predates it by four years. The DC Mini is a revolutionary device that allows a therapist to enter a patient's dreams and assist in psychotherapy. Dr. Atsuko Chiba secretly uses the technology under the persona of "Paprika," a vibrant, free-spirited dream detective. When several DC Minis are stolen from the research lab, the devices begin being used to invade people's dreams and trap them in nightmare psychosis. As reality begins to bleed into dreams and vice versa — a carnival parade of bizarre imagery invading the waking world — Paprika must find the thief and stop a madman from merging the dream world with reality entirely. The film is a breathtaking spectacle of imagination, with Kon's mastery of visual storytelling reaching its pinnacle.