Loosely adapted from a story by the Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata (though Brass injects little of the original subtlety), Paprika follows the life of a high-class prostitute named (played with electric energy by Deborah Caprioglio ). Mimma, nicknamed "Paprika" for her spicy, colorful personality, operates out of a surreal brothel decorated like a circus.
Tinto Brass is famous for his voyeuristic and high-production-value style, and Paprika is one of his most celebrated works for several reasons:
By the late 1970s and through the 1980s, Brass had cemented his reputation with films like Caligula (1979) and The Key (1983). His signature became the "hot" scene—lush, brightly lit, often featuring elaborate set designs, ridiculous props (mirrors, feathers, hats), and a distinct focus on the female derriere, which he famously called the "splendid horizon of the buttocks."
The "hot" temperature rises when she meets a naive, wealthy engineer (played by Stéphane Ferrara). What unfolds is not a simple romance but a Brass-ian power struggle. Mimma uses her sexual prowess to dominate, manipulate, and ultimately emasculate the man, leading to a series of dreamlike sequences involving mirrors, transvestite demons, and a famous scene involving a purple riding crop and a Ducati motorcycle.