My review was written in May 1991 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screenng.
Tinto Brass' "Paprika" is a failed attempt at Italian sex comedy. The maestro's patented "Caligula" brand of gross-out is here in abundance, but where are the laughs?
Fim introduces yet another zaftig Italian actress, Debra Caprioglio. As he did five years ago with Serena Grandi in the erotic hit "Miranda", Brass the talent scout has given Capriolglio an awesome undraped showcase that should win her repeat appearances in similar roles.
Caprioglio plays Mimma, an 18-year-old beauty from Pola who goes to work for 15 days in a brothel to earn money for her boyfriend. He turns out to be two-timing her, so she stays on in Madame Colette's establishment with a new name, Paprika.
Episodic feature set in the 1950s, way too long at nearly two hours, presents in amoral fashon the cheerful lass' misadventures as she's initiated into a world of libertines, much like the heroine of a Victorian porn novel. She takes up with a violent pimp, moves to brothels in Rome and Milan, and occasionally gets gigs at private parties.
Vulgar and sexist, "Paprika" hits its low pint when hammy guest star John Steiner (as an aristocrat) invites the heroine and another prostitute to his mansion for some water sports. Brass had a similar scene in "Miranda", but here he outdoes that one for tastelessness.
Ulitmately, Paprika marries a rich count, making for a happy ending that rings false. Brass' attempt to add social significance, pinning the story's climax to a law banning brothels in Italy, is lame.
Capriglio's infectons smile an laugh bely the indigniteis she's put through here. While not hardcore pornongrapy, Brass' highly explicit closeups and the Steiner episode make "Paprika" strictly NC-17 material.
Longtime Brass collaborator Silvano Ippoliti has attractively lit colorful art deco sets, but Brass' editing is atrocious. Riz Ortolani's period score is jaunty no matter how violent the action gets, and Brass has the gall to include classic songs by Edditgh P:iaf and Leo Ferre during sex scenes.
