Paprika

The anime movie Paprika was pretty nifty to watch--but not quite the mind-blowing surreal phantasmagoria I imagined after reading some reviews and watching the trailer. To be as far out as I was expecting there would have to have been far less of a linear plot than the movie turned out to have. (A plot involving a stolen machine that can allow you to enter other people's dreams) There were plenty of loose ends and unexplained or contradictory elements, but no more than I've experience in my other anime viewing experiences. With the possible exception of Spirited Away, all the anime I've see has left me emotionally disconnected--I can see that these are supposed to be very emotion laden stories, but I never manage to connect. And all of them seem to be missing parts of the plot, expecting me to make connections that I can't completely make. The end result is that I only catch an anime movie once or twice a year...after I've had enough time to forget my previous disappointment. Are there clear plot elements that I'm not getting because these are stories from another culture? Or is the culture of anime just not so interested in clear plot connections the way I am? Yet if Paprika had less plotting I would have been able to let go and really enjoy all the fantastic dream animation without the distraction of trying to so hard to fill in the frustrating gaps and loose ends!