Christopher Nolan's Inception Wasn't Inspired by Paprika

Inception remains one of Christopher Nolan’s most startlingly visionary achievements, yet many viewers have long noticed similarities with Satoshi Kon’s Paprika. Both films blur the lines between dreams and reality and involve technology that lets characters enter other people’s dreams, and several individual sequences look eerily close.

The parallels extend to major set pieces—a hotel hallway sequence that warps physics and an elevator used to explore traumatic memories—and to smaller details, from nods to Greek mythology to a businessman who sets the plot in motion and even comparable wardrobe choices for key characters.

The overlap prompted accusations that Nolan borrowed from Kon, and similar debates have surfaced around other directors and Kon’s work.

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