Sunday 12 May 2013

Upstream Color (2013)



A hallucinatory tale that brilliantly opines on how the worm turns. Observations defying explanations rivet the viewer with a masterful examination of  faith, work, love and eternal legacy. Shane Carruth the genius behind Primer, once again proves he is the odds on favorite to be the 21st century's Orson Wells. Except Carruth operates with total independence and delivers even what the harshest critics would have to admit is a movie that if it were a painting would be a perfect collage of Picasso's best abstracts merged with Salvador Dali's illuminating but confusing narrative.

"In a recent interview with Elvis Mitchell on The Treatment radio show and podcast, Carruth said that he doesn't like to make films that can be easily reduced to synopsis. Films should go to the places that the written word, and other mediums, can't go. Otherwise, what's the point? Not coincidentally, it's a sentiment that can also be applied to science fiction as a genre."

  Although the movie was made on a shoestring budget it looks and feels as big as any blockbuster. Its unbelievable the mind-blowing cinematography was created with a $600  Panasonic DSLM. Carruth served as director, writer, producer, actor, cinematographer, editor, composer, casting director, production designer and sound designer, his romantic partners Oscar worthy performance is portrayed by Amy Seimetz. A cinematic force of nature in her own right. Saying this movie challenges the audience is akin to suggesting the origin of the universe is puzzling. What is art, what is culture, what is the meaning of life, I do not know how to define these things, but I know them when I experience them, Upstream Color is such an experience.
Triumphant total critical acclaim for this movie, do not miss the first movie of the 21st Century.

IO9 picks it as best Sci Fi of 2013, supporting my opinion.

Tens Stars out of Five.

3 comments:

  1. Looks interesting. The look from the trailer reminds me of Solaris for some reason, which I loved and the production level looks high. That said, I must be one of the few people on this planet that wasnt wowed by Primer, but maybe this will be better.

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  2. Yahya, I was not wowed either by Primer. It was a cool movie for $7000 and to make a bad analogy: Comparing Primer to Upstream color is like comparing THX 1138 with Star Wars. Shane Carruth is highly unlikely to reach a mass audience in the USA let alone the world. He is like a less accessible David Cronenberg. Primer was interesting, Upstream Color is captivating.

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  3. Wow, why have I not heard about this sooner, it looks great. Sorry for the delay with my comment.

    -James

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