Upstream Color Reviews
366weirdmovies
Super Reviewer
May 1, 2013
A woman is fed a hallucinogenic worm, then gives away all her possessions in a hypnotic trance; after being operated on by a pig farmer she begins a romance with a young businessman. "Baffling" is probably the best descriptor for this dreamlike riddle without a solution. Most will hate it (a guy who walked out of my screening actually said "this is killing me"). A select few will be fascinated.
axadntpron
Super Reviewer
April 21, 2013
In regards to the narrative structure, unconventional editing, & free roaming camera work, I would not be surprised to find out that Carruth was heavily influenced by the work of director Terrence Malick. Yet what I find so impressive is that Carruth manages something that I believe few filmmakers are capable of pulling off: he apes these artistic touches while still creating a film that feels wholly fresh and completely original.
It is Terrence Malick by way of Philip K. Dick. But by the time you walk out of the theater you know you experienced something entirely Carruth. Even if you don't quite know what that means yet. To leave such an impression on the mind is quite an achievement for a director who has only two films under his belt.
Upstream Color is deliberately obtuse but doesn't feel inaccessible. It's expertly technical but oddly enough an incredibly emotional experience. It is quite simply a lot of things it shouldn't be, but somehow just is. And that...at least for me...is a beautiful thing.
Shane Carruth's follow-up to the irresistibly enigmatic Primer is a stunningly beautiful piece of film. Impressionistic in nature, Upstream Color is an intimate tale of broken people experienced through the eyes of a dazzling storyteller. Carruth not only doubles down on the complex science fiction elements that helped garner him a rabid fan base, but he expands his horizons to tackle the alienation of identity.
In regards to the narrative structure, unconventional editing, & free roaming camera work, I would not be surprised to find out that Carruth was heavily influenced by the work of director Terrence Malick. Yet what I find so impressive is that Carruth manages something that I believe few filmmakers are capable of pulling off: he apes these artistic touches while still creating a film that feels wholly fresh and completely original.
It is Terrence Malick by way of Philip K. Dick. But by the time you walk out of the theater you know you experienced something entirely Carruth. Even if you don't quite know what that means yet. To leave such an impression on the mind is quite an achievement for a director who has only two films under his belt.
Upstream Color is deliberately obtuse but doesn't feel inaccessible. It's expertly technical but oddly enough an incredibly emotional experience. It is quite simply a lot of things it shouldn't be, but somehow just is. And that...at least for me...is a beautiful thing.
Bill D 2007
Super Reviewer
April 11, 2013
But each sequence seems to be from the middle of a different film, with these excerpts then randomly assembled. They don't come together in any meaningful way. Bottom line: Carruth is an avant-garde artist but not a very good one. Ultimately he doesn't have much to say to us. He seems mostly into exploring story-telling techniques. But his explorations don't produce anything of much artistic value. He's more a technician than an artist.
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To provide a sense of UC's weirdness, here's a brief summary:
The main character is a well-educated professional woman about 30 years old who is assaulted early in the film. A man tasers her and, when she is unconscious, he causes her to ingest a small worm.
The worm, which has some strange mystical properties, puts her in a hypnotic trance. During the trance, which lasts a few days, he instructs her to copy by hand each page of a book by Henry David Thoreau. He also gets her to empty her bank accounts and give him the cash. When she wakes from the trance, she is bankrupt and the worm is crawling around her body. She can visibly see it moving under her skin -- and yes, watching this does make one's skin crawl.
Suddenly she's at a pig farm (no explanation), asking the pig farmer for help. He devises a procedure that appears to transfer the worm from her to one of his pigs. The farmer then takes on supernatural aspects, seeming to appear and disappear at will. But he's not exactly a God figure; he's more of a shaman.
Later the woman meets a man on a train (the man is played by Carruth), and they're inexplicably drawn to each other. Indications are made that he has suffered a similar fate as she has. But as with most everything in the film, this is never stated outright.
I won't reveal the details of the second half of the film, but I can say that the two help each other come to terms with the bizarre experiences they've had.
What to make of all this? What is the worm? What are the pigs? Who's the pig farmer? Why Thoreau? What does the title of the film mean? Beats me.
I am generally a big fan of avant-garde cinema. But Shane Carruth's "Upstream Color" is so abstract that it is more a collection of non sequiturs than a work of art that hangs together. Each sequence is oddly compelling despite the fact that you're not sure what is going on. Carruth likes to give you only parts of a story, as if you're seeing sequences from the middle of a film, instead of the whole film.
But each sequence seems to be from the middle of a different film, with these excerpts then randomly assembled. They don't come together in any meaningful way. Bottom line: Carruth is an avant-garde artist but not a very good one. Ultimately he doesn't have much to say to us. He seems mostly into exploring story-telling techniques. But his explorations don't produce anything of much artistic value. He's more a technician than an artist.
***************************************
To provide a sense of UC's weirdness, here's a brief summary:
The main character is a well-educated professional woman about 30 years old who is assaulted early in the film. A man tasers her and, when she is unconscious, he causes her to ingest a small worm.
The worm, which has some strange mystical properties, puts her in a hypnotic trance. During the trance, which lasts a few days, he instructs her to copy by hand each page of a book by Henry David Thoreau. He also gets her to empty her bank accounts and give him the cash. When she wakes from the trance, she is bankrupt and the worm is crawling around her body. She can visibly see it moving under her skin -- and yes, watching this does make one's skin crawl.
Suddenly she's at a pig farm (no explanation), asking the pig farmer for help. He devises a procedure that appears to transfer the worm from her to one of his pigs. The farmer then takes on supernatural aspects, seeming to appear and disappear at will. But he's not exactly a God figure; he's more of a shaman.
Later the woman meets a man on a train (the man is played by Carruth), and they're inexplicably drawn to each other. Indications are made that he has suffered a similar fate as she has. But as with most everything in the film, this is never stated outright.
I won't reveal the details of the second half of the film, but I can say that the two help each other come to terms with the bizarre experiences they've had.
What to make of all this? What is the worm? What are the pigs? Who's the pig farmer? Why Thoreau? What does the title of the film mean? Beats me.
c0up
Super Reviewer
March 12, 2013
This is captivating from the first frame, working on every level, allowing viewers to impart their own meaning (or lack of). I love this kind of experience, and it's what film is all about. Is it control, the Earth's ecosystem, existentialism? Is it something completely different? It doesn't matter.
'Upstream Color'. Incredibly thought provoking, visceral and hypnotic. Carruth's writing, score and direction are all stunning. The sound design melds right in too.
This is captivating from the first frame, working on every level, allowing viewers to impart their own meaning (or lack of). I love this kind of experience, and it's what film is all about. Is it control, the Earth's ecosystem, existentialism? Is it something completely different? It doesn't matter.
December 5, 2012
A
Thief: I have to apologize. I was born with a disfigurement where my head is made of the same material as the sun.
A
April 23, 2013
It's not that Shane Carruth doesn't try his hardest. It's just that in his pursuit of this style, there's too much missing (or outright conflicting) to ever come close to a whole picture. Minor characters seem to float on the periphery without much significance until they just fade away unnoticed. The two main characters lack much personalization; this is partly due to an absence of proper introductions (time spent instead with a peripheral side character who doesn't resurface). But it's also because their manic and guarded behavior leaves us with little to grab onto. The film hinges on the audience placing its trust in these protagonists, but it doesn't offer anything to earn this trust. When they come in late to the story acting bizarre right off the bat, we have nothing to ground us in their corner.
Upstream Color could have been a great film. Its mistakes in execution, though, cripple what potential is there. Hopefully next time Carruth can figure out the journey before he gets to its destination.
Upstream Color is unquestionably a painstakingly crafted film. It's quick, stylish, and oddly compelling. And then it ends. That's where the problems begin for me. Unlike other mindbenders (e.g., Mulholland Drive, Fight Club, Jacob's Ladder), Upstream Color gets lost in its intentional haze of free association storytelling until it ultimately doesn't resonate--like a good allegory should.
It's not that Shane Carruth doesn't try his hardest. It's just that in his pursuit of this style, there's too much missing (or outright conflicting) to ever come close to a whole picture. Minor characters seem to float on the periphery without much significance until they just fade away unnoticed. The two main characters lack much personalization; this is partly due to an absence of proper introductions (time spent instead with a peripheral side character who doesn't resurface). But it's also because their manic and guarded behavior leaves us with little to grab onto. The film hinges on the audience placing its trust in these protagonists, but it doesn't offer anything to earn this trust. When they come in late to the story acting bizarre right off the bat, we have nothing to ground us in their corner.
Upstream Color could have been a great film. Its mistakes in execution, though, cripple what potential is there. Hopefully next time Carruth can figure out the journey before he gets to its destination.
April 15, 2013
I was not a fan at all of Primer, I found it confusing and pretentious, yet when I saw the trailer for Carruth's new film, I was definitely intrigued, thankfully I can say this is a major improvement over Primer, while on paper the "plot" for this movie probably sounds pretty out there and weird, it somehow works, we're not supposed to understand everything going on here, whereas I felt we were with Primer, rather you just go along with it as a visual experience, whereas primer had next to no visual flair, here the cinematography and music combine to create a dreamlike tone throughout, i admit a film like this is definitely not for everyone, but i feel if you go in with the right mindset, you can still enjoy and appreciate it
April 7, 2013
I will say this, shot with a keen eye for natural but haunting colors, and I may have to teach it in a class just for the editing, which moves at a break neck pace (maybe a couple of times this is a problem, like 'slow down just for a moment and let a scene unfold without your elliptical machine going crazy) but is never too confusing. Oh, and how do you feel about Thoreau's Walden? Kind of a big deal here.
It was never uninteresting, successfully enigmatic, and has cute pigs. Certainly left me engaged cause it has an intelligent hand behind it, but I sadly didnt feel that emotionally engaged until maybe the last ten minutes.
In other words, don't recommend it to all, but for those looking for something more experimental and challenging to narrative forces, this is for you for sure. Or if you like cute pigs.
Im.... still not totally sure what I just saw. Which I kinda expected. It has to do with a woman who, and this is just my interpretation, is abducted, hypnotized and mentally drugged/tortured and then given a maggot that turns into a tapeworm that some pig farmer transfers from woman to pig. And then the rest of the movie she goes through ups and downs, mostly downs, as she wrestles with the trauma and maybe being connected with the pig... or something
I will say this, shot with a keen eye for natural but haunting colors, and I may have to teach it in a class just for the editing, which moves at a break neck pace (maybe a couple of times this is a problem, like 'slow down just for a moment and let a scene unfold without your elliptical machine going crazy) but is never too confusing. Oh, and how do you feel about Thoreau's Walden? Kind of a big deal here.
It was never uninteresting, successfully enigmatic, and has cute pigs. Certainly left me engaged cause it has an intelligent hand behind it, but I sadly didnt feel that emotionally engaged until maybe the last ten minutes.
In other words, don't recommend it to all, but for those looking for something more experimental and challenging to narrative forces, this is for you for sure. Or if you like cute pigs.
May 9, 2013
Intense, and I don't know why. Beautifully shot, brilliantly edited, and just a marvel to behold. I have no idea what it is about and I loved it.
May 9, 2013
An impossible film to explain rationally and I'd suspect Carruth wants it this way. Nonetheless, its an intriguing ride that's filled with hypnotic montages and a fascinating narrative. At some point, the need to figure it out seems far less important than the ride itself.
May 8, 2013
I would give it a zero rating if I could. Haven't seen a crappier movie in several years. If all movies are made like this, the entire humanity will go insane. I felt jealous of people walking on the street while I was trapped in the theatre.
May 8, 2013
I must be one of the few that got little or nothing out of this movie. Thought it was terrible and a total waste of time...................
May 7, 2013
Surreal, dark, and intricate, with solid performances from its two leads and consistently excellent cinematography.
May 6, 2013
Shane Carruth returns with a film that can only be described as the perfect, low budget mix of Malick style and Lynch surrealism. A brilliant film for those in search of a deep message on human nature and identity and a masterpiece for those who can find it.
May 5, 2013
Beautiful poetry about life connections translated in a such original film. Exceptional, really.
