Episode 166: PAPRIKA (2006)

In a body of work that defined a subgenre, Satoshi Kon’s PAPRIKA is something like a culmination. His final feature film realizes some of his longest-brewing concepts (identity, community, connection, division, reality, fiction) so well that it leaves others feeling somewhat unfulfilled – like the director’s own career after his death at just 46 years old. As certified Konheads, we discuss PAPRIKA’s trippy aesthetics, conflation of the digital world with the subconscious, the film’s problematic aspects and author self-insertion, and where the various subplots do (and don’t) serve the movie’s larger thesis. Links: - Buy tickets to “Anime’s Great Genius: Satoshi Kon” (March 2022 at the Trylon Cinema): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/animes-great-genius-satoshi-kon/ - Buy tickets to “Ishirô Honda’s Godzilla” (May 2022 at the Trylon Cinema): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/ishiro-hondas-godzilla/ Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Parade” by Susumi Hirasawa from the PAPRIKA soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 166: PAPRIKA (2006) 4:31 - The episode actually starts 6:17 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 8:51 - PAPRIKA’s conflation of the internet, reality, animation, and dreams 20:16 - Kon’s ideas in context of his oeuvre 24:37 - Problems with the 90-minute format 32:55 - Chiba, Paprika, and knowing the self 38:49 - Authorial intent and problematic writing 49:29 - A little bit of dunking on INCEPTION (2010) 55:37 - Final thoughts (music, Konakawa’s detective story, etc.) 1:15:24 - Cody’s Noteys (Fuck/Marry/Kill This Movie)