Dreams are a mirror of reality.
Just as in the final battle, the mirror relationship of light and darkness, man and woman, old man and child, several groups of characters in the film also appear in pairs: Chiba and Paprika, Fat Tokada and his assistant Hemuro, the sheriff and him Friends from school days, Chairman Kazuo Koyama, Chairman and DC mini R&D staff...
Chiba and paprika - self
Chiba and paprika are two sides of a person, cold and warm, white and red. About the symmetry of the character, it has been mentioned in many film reviews. The two are in separate worlds at the beginning of the film, leading two parallel storylines that meet at the end when dream and reality merge.
These two support the main contradiction in the story: the flooding and ending of dreams. Chiba is a party that supports the use of DCmini in therapy, and has been conducting private therapy for others through paprika. In the words of the chairman, it is a pure land that pollutes the dreamland. It can be said to ignite a flame for the formation of disaster. After the flames are stolen and flooded, she takes responsibility and becomes the savior that stops the fire from spreading. Thinking that Einstein regretted writing a letter to President Roosevelt, I wonder if Paprika also had lingering fears afterwards.
In paprika, a topic that Jin Min is very passionate about: responsibility . This word is not only said by Chiba to Tokita in the film, but in "Delusional Agent", Toshi Kon even more bitterly attacked the common idea of modern young people escaping responsibility. It seems he really cares.
With responsibility comes the dissolution of the self. As Chiba said to Paprika in the mirror, I haven't had my own dream for a long time. When she constantly shuttles through other people's dreams as paprika, the reality of herself dissolves and is replaced by the image in the dream, becoming a messenger of "sacrifice for the public interest". Chiba, who is translucent at the end of the film, helped Tokita up, and Paprika said that Chiba was dreaming. Perhaps it indicates that she is injecting paprika's temperature into her body in reality.
Chairman and Paprika - Good and Evil
A concept that is repeatedly mentioned in the film is that the birth of a new technology stems from the good wishes and persistence of children, and it is approaching maturity in the long testing and updating of researchers. However, once possessed by someone with evil intentions, it can cause disaster in an instant.
One thing that the chairman and paprika have in common is that they are both good at dreaming: Paprika's proficiency stems from his career; the chairman's proficiency stems from his disability (disability) in reality. Interestingly, the chairman has always opposed the research and development of DCmini, that is, against human intervention in the dream, and when the product appeared or even immature, he could not wait to steal it and indulge in it all day long. How long he has built in this dream world can be seen from his proficiency in dream manipulation. In the end, being swallowed and destroyed by what he opposes, it can be said that in the face of the beautiful freedom, he has experienced the sense of power to control the dream, and the desire finally overcomes the belief.
It can be seen that this evil is not innate, but transformed by desire .
The counterpart to its inflated ego is the ego that paprika has diluted above. This inflated self is also mixed with a sense of narcissistic responsibility, that is, shouldering the responsibility of protecting the purity of the dream, in fact, under the erosion of the dream, he compares himself to a god.
Chairman and R&D staff of DCmini - Science
The chairman's voice reminded me of conservatives, fitting in perfectly with the greenery behind his office, with a naturalistic yet controlling desire. His fear of technology and the unknown it brings reflects his conservatism. He was worried that DCmini would plunder the pure land of dreams, but he was actually worried that the only world he could control would get out of control, and it did get out of control later. It seemed that his worries were generally in the right direction.
R&D personnel represent the pure, idealized exploration of science. Think of science as a controllable tool that can benefit humanity. Of course, the science represented by DCmini is not an ordinary technology, but a bridge between reality and aspiration. As can be seen from the massive parade in the film and the world-devouring dolls at the end of "Delusional Agent", Jin Min doesn't have much hope for the illusions of most people.
Kazuya Oyamachi - Control
A major characteristic of Xiaoshan is mediocrity. From his jokes, we can see that he has a strong self-esteem and competitiveness, and he is eager to be recognized, but his ability is insufficient. He who is not recognized is ignored by the group, so he seems out of place, and it makes sense to take refuge in the chairman. The scene where Paprika painted a butterfly accurately showed his distorted desire for control that had been suppressed for a long time, and seemed to echo the chairman. Ironically, he was possessive and became the chairman's puppet until he lost himself, and his soul and body disappeared together. This is very sad. When Paprika escapes with the sheriff, Koyamauchi's tussle with the chairman is the only time he struggles with desire, albeit in an ugly scene.
Another detail can be seen from the confrontation of Paprika, in order to get DCmini, Koyama made some kind of deal with the ice room who had a crush on him. Apparently he's not gay, and the deal is a huge shame for anyone with self-respect. Presumably he either had such a great desire for DCmini that he gave up his self-esteem, or he so desperately desired to be admired, valued, and loved that the deal itself was no longer so ugly.
The existence of Xiaoshan completed the docking of the chairman from controlling the dream to controlling the reality. If the death of the ice room is the loss of the ego in the dream, then the death of the small mountain means the complete demise of the ego, and correspondingly, it brings the chairman's new life.
Tokita and Ice House, Sheriff and Friends - Jealousy
With these two characters, Jin Min talks about friendship and the jealousy in friendship. The reason why the two couples look after each other is because Tokita and the sheriff both said this: He is like another me.
The word jealousy was coined by Koyamauchi, after all, he felt the word deeply. Shi Tian admitted that Shi's attitude was more like a perfunctory escape, until at Bingshi's home, he saw himself deducted from the group photo, and his friend's cry for help. It can be seen that the so-called jealousy among friends is subtle and full of contradictions. Whether the ice room that escaped to the park still has a grudge against Tokita, who has always received attention and admiration, he did not give an answer in the end.
But the sheriff gave the answer and a settlement was completed.
Whether there is any jealousy between the sheriff and his friends is not stated, but the sheriff summed it up precisely in one sentence: He is always one step ahead of me in a running race, and no matter how hard I try, I can't catch up. In the movie co-produced with a friend, he was the one who chased, and he never had the reason why Dao Ming gave up chasing (giving up shooting) in the first place. After all, he loved movies deeply.
The opening circus scene is interesting, the sheriff is looking for a "traitor" rather than a murderer. The "friends" on the stage put him in a cage to show the crowd, a voice pointed at him, and many "selfs" rushed forward. It can be seen that the shame of this public display comes from "friends", and the pressure comes from myself.
The sheriff's reconciliation was to acknowledge his friend's excellence, turning shame and guilt into strength, so the friend's reproach turned into encouragement, causing him to fire the shot. Contrasted with another pair of friends, who are also mediocre, Ice room's response is escapist and negative; the sheriff's response is energetic and positive.
other ideas
1. Feminism
A lot of comments mention the feminism embodied in paprika, which I agree with. Her sense of sacrifice and responsibility for the public good gave her the brilliance of a hero. The film does not conceal men's desire or even trampling on women's bodies, but instead makes Paprika walk among others vividly, as if she does not belong to anyone and is loved by anyone. I especially like the lyrics and music in the ending song, which makes me believe that the image of paprika is purely derived from the author's respect, appreciation and love for women or girls.
2. paprika as a topic association
I don't understand Jin Min's idea of red pepper as the title of the film, but when I think about it, I think it's a very subtle metaphor. In the Western context, paprika is different from chili powder. It is a condiment that has no spicy taste, but can add a layering to the food. Very mild with a hint of sweetness in it.
3. Final Showdown
Compared with the previous plot and the seriousness of the development, the duel between the old man and the girl at the end of the film seems a bit rushed. But it can be seen that Jin Min pinned his hopes on "disobedient" and "fearless" children, and there is an intuitive feeling that new forces will swallow and replace outdated forces.
4. Comparison with Inception
The opening chapter of Inception is similar to that of Red Chili Pepper, both showing the protagonist's "everyday" use of dream work as an introduction. Immediately afterwards, the main contradiction appears, the balance of life is broken, and the protagonist faces an important choice. At this moment, the development of the two films diverges: the protagonist of Inception goes through convening the team, introducing the team (the heroine) to the use of the dream machine and its effects on dreams. Then attack the target layer by layer. In short, Inception is more like a level-breaker game. Before entering the game, the rules of the game and the world structure will be introduced, while the plot after entering the game is goal-oriented. Even if the actions of the target characters change, the rules of the world will not. Change, which also makes the final countdown more urgent.
The advantage of this mode lies in the control of the rhythm, which can accurately grasp the audience's excitement and contradictions, such as the gradual escalation of contradictions in the four-layer dream, which is reversed many times. Even though I foresee the climax of the story coming, I still have great expectations for how and what it will come. Compared with paprika, which focuses on the development and change of the dream world and the subsequent escalation of contradictions, it is a philosophical discussion about dreams and desires. In the end, the game was weak, and Paprika's teammates were on the sidelines. As philosophical as the duel itself is, I look forward to a more difficult and twisted redemption in the face of a ruined world. This feeling is also very evident in the final words of the delusional agent.
Both films have subtle logic and structure, except that the complexity of paprika is inherent, more imperceptible, or confusing. In fact, I think paprika tells a much more complex story in less time. It's a real, dream-based story that digs deep, explores and displays dreams.
Also, I really don't like the setting of the final spinning top of Inception. In the framework of the story, its rotation does not bring me deeper thinking, other than to wonder whether Leonardo woke up or not.
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