(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Shane Carruth [IMDB]
Shane Carruth is known for making a little movie called Primer which I reviewed awhile back... you can read it here. It was a really interesting, albeit confusing title that left me wanting to see more from Carruth, so here is my chance.
Synopsis: Ummm let's see.... I got nothing.
Where Primer was confusing and complicated, Upstream Color is weird and obscure.... actually all those adjectives work for both films.
Warning: If you don't like artsy films that are challenging, stay the hell away from this thing, it might be one of the worst offenders out there.
That said, I still liked the film, for a few reasons. Its soundtrack is incredible and the cinematography is pretty impressive as well. The performances were all great and for being as out there as it is, I still found it very riveting.
I know there is no synopsis above, that's because it's hard to give one, but I'll try now.
I took away a few ideas from Upstream Color and I'm not sure if any of them are right, but I think that was the point of the filmmaker. It builds on this cycle of life where everything is connected, unbeknownst to the organisms and people involved... for the most part. The two leads of the film, break this cycle. The cycle is probably the most confusing part of Upstream Color. Was it a bad thing? I think yes, probably... but it could have been a metaphor for something else.
If you haven't seen the film this next paragraph may be a bit hard to follow.
I had one idea that is kind of interesting. The worms represent a religion or belief system if you will. They are implanted into these people who blindly follow it and give all their money to it. Walden represents their spiritual text (ie: the Bible or Quran) and they transcribe it and memorize it. They then break free of this worm by visiting The Sampler who moves the worms into pigs, in an almost ceremonial way. The pigs are like their former selves that The Sampler (maybe God?) uses to stay connected to them. If this sounds odd, it is, but that's the one issue with films like Upstream Color... they're so vague that they lead you to infer your own ideas into the fold. Is that a bad thing? Is it lazy film making? Who knows.
If you enjoy complex films, check it out, it doesn't get stranger than this.
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