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Paprika came out in 2006 and was directed by Satoshi Kon.
The movie is about a new dream therapy which has been invented for psychiatric patients. The "Dc Mini" is a new creation which enables the therapists to see their patients dreams. Doctor Atsuko Chiba uses this device illegally to help her patients outside of the research facility by becoming Paprika (a fake identity) in the dream world. The "Dc Mini", which was invented by overweight Doctor Kosaku Tokita who is a genius, was stolen in it's still unfinished state. After it is being used wrongly chaos begins when the dream world clashes with the real world.
Review Scene:
I decided to pick the scene which I most remembered after watching the movie. It is disturbing scene but also a very important one throughout the movie. The scene starts one hour into the movie and ends about three minutes later. Detective Toshimi Konakawa finds himself at an abandoned town. He sees a film poster of paprika in danger as a fairy. He enters the cinema only to find that paprika is on the movie screen being pined down on a table by Doctor Morio Osana confessing his love to whom Paprika really is.
The scene cuts to the real place where Paprika is being held captive. Just like the framed butterflies all around the walls she is pinned down by huge pins and has wings herself. Doctor Morio Osanai feels her up while talking to her and then places his hand on her groin. As if Paprika has turned into jelly, Doctor Morio Osanai's hand goes through her. He slowly tears up her body from groin to her head while she is screaming in pain. Once Paprika is split in two underneath we find her true self, Doctor Atsuko Chiba. This is the start of where the dream world meets with the real world. Osanai takes Chiba out of Paprika which reminds me of dead snake skin or a cocoon. At the same time Detective Konakawa tries to force himself through the cinema screen to get to where Paprika is in reality.
Suddenly Doctor Seijiro Inui who calls himself "Protector of Dreamland" and is also the wheelchair-bound chairman of the Institute for Psychiatric Research, starts growing out of Osanai's neck. One of Osanai's arms turns into roots. Doctor Inui wants to kill Chiba and Osanai ties to fight back because he loves Chiba and doesn't want her to die. Detective Konakawa finally manages to break through the screen and in the process knocks Osanai to the ground. While Osanai and Inui fight each other Detective Konakawa picks up Chiba and escapes with her. Doctor Osanai screams and explodes into million of butterflies.
Characters:
In the scene I chose are five characters.
- Paprika - is Chiba in the Dream world
- Doctor Atsuko Chiba- psychiatrist and researcher at the Institute for Psychiatric Research.
- Doctor Seijiro Inui- Wheelchair-bound Chairman of the Institute for Psychiatric Research.
- Detective Toshimi Kanakawa- Paprikas client who struggles with his past.
- Doctor Morio Osanai- is also a psychiatrist and researcher at the Institute for Psychiatric Research who gets used by Doctor Seijiro Inui.
Detective Toshimi Konakawa stands outside of a cinema dressed in a suit which is typical of a modern day detective. He seems worried. He enters the cinema room and can see where Paprika is on the screen.
The tied down Paprika is wearing a bright orange top, blue jeans and red converse. The happy colours match her friendly personality. Doctor Morio Osanai, who is the one holding her down is wearing rather cold colours such as blue. Paprika has butterfly wings.
Doctor Chiba is revealed after Osanai rips Paprika open. She is unconscious throughout the whole scene and nude.
Doctor Seijiro Inui grows out of Osanai''s neck and they end up sharing one body for the rest of the scene.
Detective Konakawa breaks through the screen and escapes with Chiba
Doctor Osanai and Inui fight, then Osanai screams and explodes into blue butterflies.
Relationships between characters:
- Detective Konakawa is a client of Paprika and seems to like her a lot.
- Paprika's real identity is Doctor Chiba.
- Doctor Osanai is a co-worker of Chiba and is also in love with her.
- Doctor Inui, the chairman of the Institute, uses Osanai for his own evil plans.
Setting:
The scene starts off with the view of an abandoned looking western-style town one hour into the movie. I presume that the setting at this part is linked to Detective Toshimi Konakawa's past, as he used to be an actor and it looks like a movie set.
The setting of the inside of the cinema is just like any ordinary small cinema, with dark red chairs and navy walls and path in the middle separating the chairs and goes down to where the screen is.
The next part of the scene is located in an empty room that only has one table, four pillars and frames with pinned butterflies all around the walls. Most of the scene happens here.
The settings definitely add to the story rather than the visual. As there seems to be a reason for each Setting. eg. the abandoned town which links to Konakawa's past.
Miseenscene:
The background of the town at the start is linked to a set of a movie in which DetectiveToshimi Konawa was involved with. Him being in the cinema is once again linked to the fact that he once was an actor in his earlier life until the death of his best friend. The setting informs us of the Detectives past. The town is only slightly lit up by lights in the distance and the cinema movie posters. When the cinema movie poster is shown on it is an evil looking- person holding paprika as a fairy in his grasp. In the poster Paprika has butterfly wings maybe suggesting she is fragile and in danger at the moment.
The darkness of the cinema makes this scene even creepier. From the cinema the Detective can see where Paprika really is. She is trapped in a room pined down to a table just like all the butterflies in frames in the background. It is as if Paprika is being shown as an animal pray being held down by her predator, Doctor Morio Osanai.
In the whole scene references of butterflies are constantly being shown, on the movie poster, underneath Paprika when she is pinned down, all around the walls in the empty room are pinned up butterflies, when Paprika is being opened like a cocoon to reveal Chiba and in the end when Doctor Morio Osanai explodes into million butterflies. Even throughout the rest of the movie there are glimpses of butterflies flying around.
Camera Work:
Even though the scene is only three minutes long it has many camera shots in it. Since this is my first time learning camera shots I might have got some of them wrong. Sorry in case I did.
- Wide establishing shot of abandoned town from right to left
- Medium shot of Detective Toshimi Konakawa
- Close up of cinema film poster
- Extreme close up of the cinema film poster with Paprika on it
- Wide shot of cinema room facing the door and the Detective entering
- Extreme wide shot of the cinema room facing the screen and Detective running towards it
- Medium shot of Paprika being pinned down on a table and Doctor Morio Osanai feels her up
- Close up of Doctor Morio Osanai's face
- Close up of Doctor Morio Osanai's hand on Paprikas groin
- Camera follows Doctor Osanai's hand ripping through Paprikas body
- Close up of Paprika's face
- Close up of Doctor Osanai's face
- Camera follows Doctor Osanai's hand ripping Paprika apart even more
- Close up of Paprika's face
- Close up of Doctor Osanai's face
- Camera follows Doctor Osanai's hand ripping Paprika apart up to her face
- Wide shot of Doctor Osanai looking at Paprika on the table in the empty room
- Birds eye shot of Paprika ripped like the shell of a cocoon to reveal her true self while Doctor Osanai looks down at her.
- Extreme close up of Doctor Osanai's face
- Close up of ripped Paprika revealing Doctor Atsuko Chiba
- Wide shot of Doctor Osanai taking Doctor Chiba out of the torn Paprika shell
- Over shoulder shot of Doctor Osanai looking down at Chiba
- Wide shot
- Close up of Doctor Seijiro Inui face coming out of Doctor Osanai's neck
- Close up of Chiba being choked by roots
- Two-shot of Osanai trying to pull away his root arm from Chiba
- Wide shot of the wall in a room bending inwards due to the Detective trying to brake through
- Unusual Fish eye shot of the screen being bend inwards towards the Detective
- Close up of Doctor Osanai and Inui's face
- Close up of Chiba's face
- Close up of Osanai's and Inui's face
- Unusual medium shot of Detective Konakawa breaking through the wall
- Wide shot of Detective Konakawa pushing Osanai to the ground while Chiba falls of the table
- Wide shot of Chiba lying on the floor
- Wide shot of Osanaion the floor
- Unusual medium shot of Konakawa looking at the shell of Paprika on the table
- Camera follows Konakawa going to Chiba
- Over shoulder shot of Konakawa looking down at Chiba
- Worm's eye view of Detective Konakawa
- Medium shot of Doctor Osanai and Inui fighting each other in one body
- Wide shot of Detective Konakawa Picking up Chiba
- Close up of Doctor Osanai and Inui's faces
- Medium close up of Konakawa holding Chiba in his arms
- Wide shot of Mr Konakawa walking away with Chiba while Osanai tries to follow
- Medium close up of Osanai and Inui's face
- Medium close up gets filled with millions of blue butterflies and the scene ends
The most interesting shot is when Detective Konakawa breaks through the screen.
Sounds and Music:
Since the scene starts with an abandoned town all that we can hear is the Detectives Breathing and when he walks over to the cinema his footsteps. The silence suits this scene well and adds a sense of danger, that something might suddenly happen. When the cinema movie poster is shown and the drawing of paprika screams it adds tension to the scene. There is no music, but there is no need for it, the cinema door opening and the voices of the people on the cinema screen are enough. The fact that there is no music makes this scene more dramatic and serious which helps to add the tension even more. Doctor Morio Osanai is having a conversation with Paprika.
When Paprika is being split in two, her scream's of agony break the silence. The squishy- slimy sound works well when Osani's hand sinks through Paprikas skin. Slow creepy music starts for a short while when Paprika gets ripped apart by Doctor Morio Osanai. After that there is no music, just sound effects and the voices of the characters.
Did you like it? Why /not ? What would you change/keep?:
I am not sure if I like the scene or not but it is the scene I remember most from the movie. I do however like the way the butterfly is constantly being used in the scene. I didn't notice this at first only after watching the scene for the second time did I notice. I wouldn't change the scene I think it is good the way it is. If the scene didn't exist there would be no starting point to show when and where the dream world links with reality, so this scene is a very important one in the movie. In general I really like the visuals of this movie. Everything is so colourful with much detail and looks great.
My favourite scene in the movie is the part where Doctor Chiba is about to jump over the railing of a theme park to catch the doll but in reality the railing is not a that of a theme park but one of a roof on a skyscraper. The dream world she sees disappears once she hops over the railing. Just as she is about to fall Doctor Osanai grabs her and saves her. I'm not entirely sure why this is my favourite part of the movie but I think it just looks visually really cool when the dream world changes into what is actually happening.
