Review of Paprika

Here's a splendid restoration work from the original film's vaults, colorful, lavish, and always sexy, erotic, as only Brass could make movies, a bit art house, extremely stylized, over all infused of that slight sensational sophisticated comedies' feel in perfect 1930s style, yet with wildly turns into graphic and/or erotic story telling that's always (almost) been handled with the talent only Tinto Brass is capable of, and believe it or not, with again, a certain sophisticated eye capable always to 'see' beyond the nudity, and, discovering the souls of his principle cast with some outstanding expressionistic visual style of sort that has been truly Brass' trademark since the beginning of his admirable career: he can manage to make you believe the most uncomfortable circumstances photographed beautifully but also extremely realistically with vivid glares and rapid ironic smiles of provocation, and, staying yet completely free of any judgment, but again, so realistic in the representation of their own depiction, composing at the end quite the piece! Here, thanks to a simple, but clear, and, clever narrative, we have John Cleland's heroine 'Fanny Hill' who becomes a young 'Mimma' (gorgeous to look at Deborah Caprioglio) from Trieste, east of Venice, Italy, an almost under age beautiful Bambie not educated, she is initially naive, badly betrayed by an abusive boyfriend, and, she ends up having no other choice than becoming a prostitute. The film does follow her throughout her own journey and her version of the story that is taking place in prude and puritan 1950s Italy, and, in what seems to be a carefree, endless riot of an existence that does never embitter the now re-named (after a series of fun and powerful make overs) "Paprika", but, actually, she at the contrary seems to make always the best for herself, becoming quite a very sweet, but smart and very sexually skilled young lady, capable also to gain her own respect, and at the right moment also to change her faith for the best, becoming as in a fairy tale, a Countess, with yachts and marvelous huge Villa on Lake Como, while, at the same time, keeping herself intact with her good heart, as she is still managing to gain social influence, power, money (the original 18 years old heir is put back to his place right away), but also helping some ex colleagues and their lives, now harshly facing the streets, and its dangers, after the laws prohibiting brothels in Italy since after 1958, leaving all the workers to despair and apparently without a roof in the merge of worse pimps abusing them! What could have become either the same old, trite tale of the poor demoniac young prostitute, or just a trip into the mere and most exploitative depiction of all sex and morbid curiosity over the vulgar aspects of such hard life now changes drastically direction and flavor with Brass in top form taking the helm with class, also with the help of always exceptional (often Federico Fellini's co-writer, too) screen writer Bernardino Zapponi, who opts to tell the story instead like a wild comedy with great dialogs that truly feels like one of those movies released before the Hollywood code of censorship, by doing so, Brass and Zapponi leave the narration as linear as possible pushing instead the envelope over all the eccentric, and, the truly lavish visuals designed with phenomenal gusto and greatness by Academy award winners art director Bruno Cesari, and production designer Paolo Biagetti, with the help of the almost surrealistic gowns, wonderfully tailored by fantastic costume designer Jost Jakob, and, with an over all general key visual extravaganza highly accomplished with the help of a big budgeted International co-production, but, also by the exquisite use of the colorful palette offered by the sizzling cinematography put together by masters Silvano Ippoliti, and Massimo Di Venanzo. A movie i highly enjoyed watching again, and that i have appreciated being so well re-presented and restored. The supporting cast is here also another treat to look for, composed as it is, by some of the most well known cult Euro actors of the time, all wonderfully placed, composing a myriad of faces, cameos, and little yet very poignant roles, such as John Steiner, Petra Sharback, Nina Soldano, Luca Lionello, Riccardo Garrone, Valentine Demy, Andrea Aureli, Luigi Laezza, Stephane Bonnet, Stephane Ferrara, Elizabeth Kaza, Deborah Cali, Paul Muller, Martine Brochard, Luciana Cirenei, and, last but not least, Domiziano Arcangeli as 18years old Gualtiero who's brought to celebrate his birthday, in the fabulous looking brothel "Gli Specchi" in Milan, by his father, wealthy, eccentric, and wild Count Bastiano Rosasco (burly Renzo Rinaldi, an actor very dear to the late Brass) who later ends up inviting Paprika in high society, and he finally introduces her to his own family disrupted in disbelief when he decides to announce he's to marry her, apparently keeping extremely blasé about the whole social scandal. But, this will end up being at once the originally unique happy ending of a good, gorgeous, young girl who has always been thankful for what life had presented to her no matter what, smiling always like an eternal sunshine, and leaving tears and melodrama out of her (wild) path, mainly never embittered by the circumstances, as she is now rewarded by a twist of fate, when she would end up crossing the line, and by famous young prostitute of elegant brothels, we get to see her toward the end of the picture, transforming yet again and becoming a famed and respected young blue blood Italian countess. A true smash at the time of its release, very successful indeed at the International box offices of that time, this movie holds its own still very well, with its genius and crazy director, fun and light script, lavish sets, and elegant exterior work, its great technical contributions, "Paprika"certainly manages to successfully and glittering appearing almost as a brand new show, just 25 years past its original release!