Layered, vividly bright (in both senses of the word), and mysterious, the film tells the story of Doctor Atsuko Chiba who upon entering her psychiatric patient’s dreams assumes an alter-ego detective of sorts: Paprika.

The science-fiction psychological thriller is a dizzying daydream that catapults you into a waking nightmare in a matter of seconds. Twists of fate ensue, but none without the societal pressures of that time.īased on the novel of the same name, Paprika is an Japanese animation classic, even jumping across the Pacific Ocean to gain popularity in the U.S. Our protagonist comes into contact with an old fellow naval friend, whose new job is to draft letters from Japanese women to the foreign soldiers who left them after the war. She is now a war widow, but he hasn’t been able to find her since. Its protagonist is a naval veteran named Reikichi who clings to a love letter from his former lover who informs him she is to be married to someone else against her wishes. Love Letter takes place in a post war Japan. However, Tanaka’s romance drama titled, Love Letter premiered in the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. It was extremely difficult in the 1950’s for women to maintain leadership positions in the film industry due to the pressures of a patriarchally run society and economy. (The first being Tazuko Sakane, who famously wore men’s clothing and whose work was tragically lost in time). The second ever woman to direct a movie in Japan was Kinuyo Tanaka.

Koushun takami books