PaprikaandInceptionare two fantastic movies with a relatively similar premise, yet the 2006 Satoshi Kon film accomplishes something that Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster did not. Following the massive success ofThe Dark Knight,Nolan was finally able to make hisInceptionscript into the movie he wanted.Nolan has talked about how, before makingInceptionas a studio movie, you have to makeThe Dark Knight. Fortunately, the director had all the resources and creative freedom to pull offInception, which remains one of thebest Christopher Nolan movies14 years later.
From the trailers towhether Cobb’s top stopped spinning,Inceptionwas a pop culture phenomenon in 2010. It was the first time Nolan directed an action-packed blockbuster outside of the Batman films and proved that the filmmaker’s original movies could be as successful as his Dark Knight trilogy entries. However, as much as loveInception, my favorite film about the subconscious and what happens when we’re dreaming came out four years earlier and explored those themes in a very different way from what Nolan would do.
Paprika Combined Sci-Fi And Surrealism In A Way That Inception Couldn’t
Paprika’s Representation Of Dreams Is Radically Different From Inception’s
When I think of dreams and the power of the subconscious, I think of the unpredictable and things that should not make sense. This is something that the latedirector Satoshi Konperfectly captured withPaprika. WhilePaprikawas based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, the visuals and pacing of the film added a lot to the experience.Paprikais a sci-fi movie first and foremost – it features a machine that allows people to have shared dreams– yet it is also a surreal visual experience that successfully emulates what dreaming feels like.
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Christopher Nolan’sInception, on the other hand, is a much more well-behaved movie defined by strict rules and rhythm. There is a charm to howInceptionfinds order in the chaos of the subconscious and makes an action-packed heist out of such an unusual premise, but the movie never quite captures what dreams truly feel like. Naturally, this is a stylistic choice that comes down to the movie the filmmaker wants to make, but I cannot help but feel likePaprikadoes something more compelling with its premise thanInception.
Inception Was Great (But Paprika Did Something More Interesting)
Paprika Made The Most Of Its Premise
It is difficult not to compareInceptiontoPaprikagiven the similarities in their premises. From the idea of shared dreams to a machine through which it happens,bothPaprikaandInceptionplay with the idea that the subconscious is incredibly powerful and can provide answers that one wouldn’t be able to find in the “real world.”Compared toPaprika,Inceptionis a more straightforward movie, even though all the dream levels and hidden twists make Nolan’s film very rewatchable. Still,Inceptionis told from the perspective of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb, a man with a clear goal from the start.
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InPaprika, it takes a while to understand what the film is really trying to say, and how its characters connect. The idea of a psychiatrist, Dr. Atsuko Chiba, having an alter-ego she can use to enter her patients’ dreams is incredibly fascinating and sets the tone for the rest of the movie.Paprikais not so much of a character study as it is a study of the human mind. The visuals ofPaprikaare not only gorgeous but also a great representation of how random and chaotic dreams can be.
As someone who loves bothPaprikaandInception, I like to perceive these films as an example of how similar premises can lead to completely different movies. It all depends on the lenses through which this premise is being looked at. In other words, different authors will always have different takes on the same concepts, myths, and stories.Satoshi Kon makesPaprikaa journey into the subconscious, while Christopher Nolan usesInception’s dream levelsas a metaphor for how deep Cobb’s guilt goes.Paprikais a slower film, withInceptionbeing an action epic.
PaprikaandInceptionstart pretty much from the same premise but start to diverge when it comes to the execution and the characters.
InPaprika, the fact that dreams cannot be easily understood is used to create some fantastic visuals and have us question everything.Inceptionuses dreams to bend the rules of time, creating a heist that happens on three different levels, all of which are coordinated through music. Given how different these films look, it is easy to forget thatPaprikaandInceptionstart pretty much from the same premise but start to diverge when it comes to the execution and the characters.
Paprika
Cast
Paprika (2007) is a Japanese animated science-fiction film directed by Satoshi Kon. The story follows Dr. Atsuko Chiba, a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter patients' dreams and treat their psychological disorders. When the device is stolen, it poses a threat to both the dream world and reality, prompting Dr. Chiba to transform into her dream alter-ego, Paprika, to retrieve it.
Inception
Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan, features a skilled thief who uses dream-sharing technology to steal corporate secrets. He is tasked with planting an idea into a CEO’s mind, while confronting his troubled past, which threatens the mission and his team.
