Upstream Color (Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack) (2013)

Hypnotic, fascinating, and frustrating, "Upstream Color" is a bold (if not entirely comprehensible) new experience from auteur Shane Carruth. Carruth made a huge splash in the indie film world with his first film "Primer," which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2004. "Primer" has become a bona fide cult classic and a love-it or hate-it proposition. It's an experimental sci-fi effort that wrestles with big ideas and proves that you don't need a huge budget to produce an ambitious mind-bender. It isn't perfect, by any means, but it is a film that challenges conventional movie fare. Much the same can be said about "Upstream Color," I suppose. There is something far more ethereal, however, more haunting. This is not particularly about story and narrative, it is about creating visual poetry. As such, this will surely be a polarizing film.

From my perspective, the first thirty minutes of this ninety minute movie are absolutely spellbinding. Not to give too much away, but this sequence plays out as crazy crime caper in which a man systematically destroys the life of a woman (Amy Siemetz). It's absolutely chilling and completely original. When the woman, now fragile and uncertain, later meets an equally wayward soul (Carruth), they try to piece together some semblance of normalcy. Here the film becomes decidedly more fragmented as they bond AND wrestle with their demons. They, among others, may have shared a similar experience. But what is reality and what is illusion? I may not be smart enough to make sense of all of Carruth's dreamlike vision, but I just relinquished myself to the experience. The movie images start to flow over you. Between pig farming, mind altering worms, an errant sound technician, and Henry David Thoreau's "Walden," you can't be entirely sure where you'll end up! But when you get there, there is surprising emotional resonance (even if you don't understand why exactly).

"Upstream Color" can be aloof and maddening and it may leave you struggling to see Carruth's vision, but it is certainly unlike anything else you'll see this year. I mean that as a compliment, but I'm also going to be conservative in my recommendation. This is a prime example of experimental filmmaking, it is not something that will necessarily speak to a mass audience. Those that love it will proclaim it to be a masterpiece. Those that don't will likely think it's a waste of time. There will probably be very little middle ground in the appreciation (or lack thereof) for this unusual experience. If you need traditional storytelling, this is not for you. I appreciate that Carruth made the film that he wanted, creativity and authorship are dying arts in most movies. It didn't always work for me, but it's well worth checking into for adventuurous audiences. KGHarris, 5/13.

"How are you enjoying South By Southwest?"

"It's great. I've seen some great films."

"What's the best thing you've seen?"

"Upstream Color."

"Oh. What's that about?"

"..."

I try to tell them that it can't really be explained. I could tell them that the discernible plot centers on a woman taken advantage of by a thief using a hypnotic plant as his weapon of choice, but that barely encapsulates a quarter of the half of the film I actually did understand. And I know most of us hate math.

What I can say with clarity and certainty is that if you enjoyed Primer, you should almost positively love this movie. If you haven't seen Primer, go watch it now and share your experience with the world. If you like the work of Gondry, Kaufman, Malick, Herzog, Cronenberg, Lynch, or Aronofsky then I'd be surprised if you didn't love this one.

At the end of my screening a man stood up and said, "Loved the film, but I'll be out in the lobby if anyone wants to try to explain it to me." It's really not that confusing. Don't be scared.

Buy Upstream Color (Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack) (2013) Now

Auteurs get a bad rap, and that isn't because they lack the ability to provide a cohesive product that can also make a buck. More likely, it's due to the fact that audiences avoid even investing time and effort into understanding not every film's message is going to be grasped and understood in the first fifteen (or so) minutes. As our attention spans have grown narrower and narrower, films that present a strong narrative or serve as an allegory for something bigger than the latest Ben Stiller comedy ("art" for the masses) or Martin Scorsese film (art for the critical masses) just aren't given the time of day. Now, granted, not every auteur-driven motion picture deserves as much commentary as the next, but a truly visionary film has the ability to not only change the way stories are told but also they might challenge us to think about ourselves and our roles in the greater world at large.

(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and characters. If you're the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I'd encourage you to skip down to the last two paragraphs for my final assessment. If, however, you're accepting of a few modest hints at `things to come,' then read on ...)

Unlike writer/director Shane Carruth's earlier film PRIMER which I found to be entirely far too esoteric or relatable for its own good, UPSTREAM COLOR grounds its story in real characters that an audience can care about, root for, and understand. The hard science he leaves in the background an undercurrent that drives the plot forward but isn't so overpowering that it ever rises to the central focus. Also, Carruth smartly populates COLOR with people whose flaws enjoy both conventional and unconventional definition, then pushes the envelope into some very conspiratorial waters but always maintains a workable sci-fi emphasis to bring it back to reality.

Amy (played with `girl-next-door' aplomb by Amy Seimetz) finds her world unexplainably spiraling out of control as she awakens from a substance-abused `invasion' that leaves her jobless and (nearly) penniless. As she begins her life anew, she finds herself curiously drawn to Jeff (Carruth) in ways that defy any logical explanation. It is as if destiny has pulled them together, though they've no collective understanding of why they behave with one another the way they do. Together, they begin to explore the various `surprises' of their shared existence, leading them to uncover the truth that their shared reality is not what it seems.

COLOR is the kind of film whose story is difficult to describe without spoiling some of the tale's internal magic. Suffice it to say, the science-themed romance is nothing short of visual poetry probably best suited for cinema buffs, film aficionados, and academics who prefer more meat than fluff with their meals. It isn't the kind of product that's designed for immediately pay-off of shots and sequences and even smaller moments; it requires a cognitive investment on the part of the viewer. Rest assured: everything presented has an answer, but it isn't forthcoming in the way traditional films are constructed. This is one that's revealed in substantive layers in the nuances of what looks superficially to be even quirky performances by the players and even the final scene can speak volumes to the person who `gets it.'

I've no doubt that some will or have dismissed COLOR as an art-house creation, and, to some degree, I suppose that's a legitimate criticism. Certainly, these 90 minutes will not be to everyone's liking. Discerning fans of intelligent science fiction will probably be most impressed ... so long as they're willing to make the commitment to come for the meal but stay for the pie.

UPSTREAM COLOR is produced by ERBP. DVD distribution is being handled by Cinedigm Entertainment Group. As for the technical specifications ... wow. The visual and audio elements of COLOR are exceptional; all aspects weave together to tell this singular story in several possible ways that are always clever and inspired. Unfortunately (and shame, shame, shame!), the only special features available on the disc I was provided are the theatrical trailers, and that doesn't even come close to scratching the surface of what I would've expected or wanted. This film is something special, and, as such, I believe it deserved more. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that UPSTREAM COLOR served as an `Official Selection' of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, the 63rd Panorama Internationale Filmfestspiele of Berlin, the SXSW Film Festival, and the 2013 New Directors/New Films Festival. Also, the film won the Special Jury Prize for Sound Design at 2013's Sundance.

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION POSSIBLE. UPSTREAM COLOR is an aggressively original vision of a world wherein cause, effect, and purpose collide in ways unimaginable. You'd be a fool not to discover it.

In the interests of fairness, I'm pleased to disclose that the fine folks at ERBP via Cinedigm Entertainment Group provided me with a DVD copy of UPSTREAM COLOR by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review.

Read Best Reviews of Upstream Color (Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack) (2013) Here

UC is amazing, brilliant, confusing, lovely to look at and I bought it without having even seen it because Shane Carruth made PRIMER and that makes anything else he comes up with worth a look. I was not let down. This movie attempts to enlarge what movies can be. Instead of being trapped by a constant (and boring) demand for plot and more plot---this film offers ideas and feelings that you can go away with and think about later on your own. In short, unlike 99% of movies out there, this film stays with you. And any filmmaker brave enough to put pigs in his film as a serious element deserves a lot of praise. God knows what he will make next but I'll be there waiting to see it.

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It took a long time before I began to fit the various pieces of this movie together, but when I did, the shock of that realization made me stand up and exclaim "oh my god!" Thank goodness I saw this at home, and not in the theater!

The force driving this apparently dream-like, Lynchian narrative is as solid and well-realized as the one in Carruth's previous film Primer, but completely different. Yet I might not have figured it out had I not read some articles describing the book "Qbsbtjuf Sfy" (change the letters backward one place alphabetically (b becomes a, for example) if you don't mind a spoiler).

If you like challenging, masterfully directed science fiction with an emphasis on storytelling over MichaelBaySplodiness, check out this movie.

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