Check This One Out! - Upstream Color

Check This One Out! - Upstream Color

Jeff: "I want to go where you go."

     "Upstream Color" is directed by Shane Carruth ("Primer") and stars Amy Seimetz as Kris, Shane Carruth as Jeff, and Andrew Sensenig as The Sampler.

Oh, and some pigs are in it too.

     Bare with me. I'm going to try my best to explain the plot the best I can: An emotionally damaged woman and a man with a depressing past are drawn to each other. Something about hypnosis and parasites that connect people to others' memories...pigs and cancer...f**k. This is so difficult. It's a film about connections, identities, and illusions.

This is me trying to understand the film.

     Why am I suggesting this as a film that you should watch? The simple answer is "Upstream Color" is change from conventional films. Like my review of "Paterson", the films that defy film norms and don't stick to the rules of a narrative story are the refreshing pain killers that help rectify the idea of film being an art. In the case of "Upstream Color", the specific details that make this film art are the sound designs, the cinematography, and the screenplay. A warning before you watch this film: you're not going to be able to understand the film fully after a first watch. Hell, you might not even get much more info after the second viewing. This is a film that contains many subjective themes that forces you to think and discuss with others. The sound design is just a beautiful addition to "Upstream Color" that mesmerizes me still. The birds chirping, a rock falling in a tunnel, and more natural everyday noises sound so crisp. It's probably beneficial that The Sampler captures random noises with his microphone (I don't understand why he does that. Please someone explain). "Upstream Color" lives up to its second word of the title. The film looks authentic. It looks like an upscale and well produced version of life. Lens flares are used at times, and while I don't always appreciate over usage of lens flare *ahem, "Star Trek", ahem*, it works in this film. This is a film that I truly believe shouldn't be good. Seriously. However, even though the plot was difficult to follow, I was hypnotized by what "Upstream Color" had to offer. Shan Carruth knows how to make mystery films with a screenplay that has a broad path to walk down, yet somehow attacks the audience with technical and story-based charm.

A realistic love story that isn't totally realistic at all. Make sense? Yeah, it doesn't to me either. It's so beautiful though!

     Shane Carruth directed, wrote, acted, edited and composed the music for "Upstream Color". He did almost the same thing for his previous and only other film: the cult classic "Primer". The only other person that I know can do all of that is Santa Clause. That guy can be anywhere and everywhere. Wait...is Shane Carruth Santa? Naw...Oh, wow. Anyway, "Upstream Color" takes a film that could have been a disaster into a different direction that feels so fresh and so fascinating. "Upstream Color" could take a handful of views to come close to learning every part of the story. I won't know. I've come to terms with it. After seeing a worm-like organism burrowing into a person's bloodstream to let the host go from all consciousness, I gave up (that's at the beginning).

What?! It's him!

"Upstream Color" is not rated

Click here to watch the trailer

"Upstream Color" is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download

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