From the director of Primer, Upstream Color

Psychedelic

Watched this last night, not sure what to make of it yet, thought it was confusing but it was interesting enough to re-watch, and like Primer it will need a few more viewings to get what it's about. Whereas in Primer I knew it was about time travel and could follow the narrative reasonably well, in Upstream Colour I didn't have a clue what was going on for the most part.

Sad Professor

While this film isn't out in the UK until later in the year, there's loads of ways of legitimately acquiring it now. Carruth is distributing it himself and it's available to download DRM-free from the official website for $20. You can pay via Paypal and it will play on anything that plays MP4 (Xbox, PS3, iOS, etc). It's also available from US iTunes or you can import the US Blu-ray which is region-free.

http://erbpfilm.com/film/upstreamcolor

tracert

Sad Professor wrote: »

While this film isn't out in the UK until later in the year, there's loads of ways of legitimately acquiring it now. Carruth is distributing it himself and it's available to download DRM-free from the official website for $20. You can pay via Paypal and it will play on anything that plays MP4 (Xbox, PS3, iOS, etc). It's also available from US iTunes or you can import the US Blu-ray which is region-free.

http://erbpfilm.com/film/upstreamcolor

Brilliant, thanks for posting. This is how it should be done these days.

I was hoping to catch Mud in the cinema tomorrow but it's only on in Dublin, it seems, so this will do nicely instead.

Edit: I missed the "isn't out in the UK until later in the year" before spending five minutes looking for Ireland (here and the UK are the only places not on the list, as far as I can tell, but the Isle of Man makes the cut for some reason!) in the list of countries while ordering the Blu-Ray/Download combo. So it's not exactly how it should be done but close.

Tusky

Watched this last night, having not watched Primer. Found it fairly disappointing. He's clearly a guy that has some pretty interesting ideas, but it just doesn't tie together well enough. Throughout the whole film I was wondering what was going on, and at the end there just wasn't enough resolution to satisfy the time spent wondering.

Having said that, visually, it is nice to look at and there are some good ideas in there.

indough

yeah it does look good, much better than primer anyway. it was shot on the panasonic gh2 and used fairly inexpensive lenses as well which just goes to show what can be done with very little these days.

johnny_ultimate

A beautiful, challenging and emotionally powerful film. Forgetting about the literal plot mechanics for a moment (a great article explaining them here) it's more than anything a poignant, rich examination of nature, love, friendship, human agency and - above all - the fascinating circle of life. Without being bogged down by the religious motivations of, say, Terence Malick (Tree of Life meets Primer gets us a little way towards describing the trajectory of the film) it's a beautiful examination of the endlessly cycling flow of life and the spiritual connection everything / everyone forges with it not through some higher power but by the the food chain, evolution etc... Science meeting fiction with great excitement and thematic depth.

It's also a carefully forged love story, with two people being drawn together and forging an intense relationship to the point where their identities begin to inseparably merge and intersect (brought about by the lingering connection forged as a result of their respective identity thefts). And, through their increasing spiritual link with the pigs in the pen, they are whipped through an animalistic, primitive and uncontrollable path. It's a film of escalating raw emotions. The musician, meanwhile, acts as a sort of substitute for Carruth himself (for the first hour of the film anyway) - immersing himself in this world of elevated emotion to try and create great art out of a rush of unfiltered humanity (and that confusing, heady rush experienced by a majority of the characters here completely justifies the sprawling stream-of-consciousness structure of the film itself).

It's all expertly put together - with an atmospheric soundtrack, dreamy photography and editing that links scenes & sequences together in all manner of clever, provocative ways. It's a film whose plot certainly doesn't dabble in the multiple timeline mind****ery of Primer, but while it's difficult to grasp the meaning of every little detail first time around, even when I was a step or two behind certain aspects of the narrative I found myself fascinated by the film's range and depth. Don't worry about understanding too much while watching - let it all wash over you instead, and you might just start to feel it's something special, resonating in strange but profound ways - and, key to this is all, is that analysing and thinking about it might well reveal a plethora of other reasons why it all works so wonderfully.

johnny_ultimate

Some extended thoughts. Easily one of the best films I've seen this year:

Upstream Colour is an exhilarating puzzle-box of a film, presenting a dreamy, affecting experience entirely through the language of cinema. When you watch it first time, some details will almost without doubt remain tantalising elusive and vague. But that initial mysteriousness also effectively supplements the film's generous thematic and emotional core. When you sit down to tease out the lingering questions & ambiguities, rather than fall apart you suddenly realise just how deep the film's reservoirs of intrigue, intelligence and formal inventiveness actually are.

Carruth's lo-fi first film Primer earned both praise and scorn for its unforgivingly complex portrayal of time travel. Casually shifting through multiple timelines while only providing the viewer with hints of how to work out, it drove countless viewers to the Internet to seek out the many fan attempts at explaining its snaking complexities. While it was hardly accessible, Primer's proudest achievement was its unfaltering, meticulous internal logic and design. Obviously it was science-fiction, but grounded in a world near identical to our own. Carruth was in complete control, and he challenged the viewer to interpret and understand the rules.

Upstream Colour is also dictated by very particular, tightly defined internal rule set. The narrative is more straightforward and linear (naturally lacking the criss-crossing structure of its predecessor) but in its way it's also stranger. We're still in hard science-fiction territory, in a world of telepathic identity theft and emotional connections between humans and animals. I won't dwell on the details too much (they've been covered well elsewhere), but it's presents fantastical ideas in a militantly down-to-earth manner, with even the film's imagined science only slightly stretching real-world credibility.

If your smarter than I, then perhaps you'll figure out all the plots unusual characters and developments on your own. Personally, I got the core ideas but was left wondering about what role many scenes and individuals played in the grander picture - the pig farming musician served particularly. Although details remained uncertain, I was still deeply drawn into Carruth's world. It's an immensely atmospheric film, enhanced by meticulous visuals and sound design. The relationship between the two protagonists is a deeply moving, intense one. It's a remarkable sci-fi love story, comparable to something like Solaris or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: two people drawn closer and closer together by an impossible to articulate spiritual and emotional connection. They effectively mind-meld, bringing their relationship to a impossibly intimate levels, while also experiencing the primal, animalistic reactions of the pigs they're initially unaware they also share a connection with.

Indeed, the grandest theme of the film comes through its portrayal of the natural world and, to use a cliché, the circle of life. Carruth is like a secular Malick, discovering transcendence in the deeply forged connections between people, plants, animals and everything else. Everything is linked by a glorious natural order, but it's also a film about free agency and compassion. It could be read as preachy environmentalism, but Carruth is far from a preacher. He provides the evidence, but asks us to engage with it on our own terms.

The director - who is some multi-tasker: writing, directing, filming, acting, composing, producing etc... - avoids exposition and explanations to the point where some will damn Upstream Colour as oblique and pointlessly confusing (accusations of pretentiousness can't be far behind either). And yes, the first go round might leave more questions than answers. But it's immediately obvious the wealth of fascinating material the film offers. Personally speaking, I felt a strong reaction to it even without fully comprehending everything that was happening on a purely literal level. There's the strong argument that not everything needs explaining, anyway - the mystery more than suffices. But when I did choose to sit down and consider it more, my own favourable reaction to it was only confirmed by personal reflection and the thoughts and observations of others (how appropriate given the film's themes)

What makes Carruth different than most directors is that he understands cinema so deeply and passionately. At times, the film is near silent (musical score aside), instead relying on camera work and editing to tell the story. Thematic links are hinted at through individual edits, with ideas flowing through image progression rather than the characters lecturing us. If it alienates us to some degree, it's only because full understanding requires us to somewhat reevaluate our relationship with everything on screen. Answers are not passively provided for us, as Carruth is more interested in engaging us in a dialogue. Everything we need to understand is embedded in the film, whether that's through the explanatory prologue or transitional choices. We need to rewire our brains a bit and understand the film through its very form - a feat only a the great few have successfully achieved since the silent masters experimented with wholly visual storytelling. Carruth uses in-film dialogue intelligently and music carefully, of course - these are intrinsic parts of moviemaking just as much as the visuals. The auteur - and that word is wholly appropriate for a vision so singular - rarely loses control of any of it.

In a way, that mysterious musician is an analogue for Carruth himself - an artist trying to create something unique through sometimes incomprehensible, overwhelming life experiences both shared and individual. The pig farmer uses music to try and capture it, but Carruth uses cinema. The results are frequently electrifying.

Mickeroo

Just gave this a watch and i thought it was very good.


The sci-fi basis the story is built around was surprisingly easy to decipher and it's less of a headcuss than Primer was for sure but i also think it's a much more engaging film than Primer. Where Primer was interesting due to it's labrynthine plot and the constant struggle to figure out exactly what's going on this is interesting in a much more personal & emotional way. It's a thematically rich film covering things such as identity, our connection with nature, love, loss and the cyclic nature of life.

The premise itself is never spelled out to the audience though it's not hard to figure out and is a fairly typical scf-fi/body horror one that wouldn't be out of place in a twilight zone or x-files episode, and actually the story sounds a bit silly when you break it down to it's most basic components

the main protagonists live happily ever after with their pig babies for example :P

. Yet through a combination of the brilliant performance from Amy Seimetz, the imagery, the editing, the music and the way the story is structured the it's elevated into a very engaging and in it's own way profound (imo obviously) whole.

It's definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea though and Tree of Life comparisons are valid but it's well worth a watch to make your own mind up on it.

johnny_ultimate

Out in the Lighthouse and IFI today. If you haven't seen it yet, don't miss it, this deserves all the support we can throw at it. I am very much looking forward to a big screen revisit

e_e

Well that was a load of pretentious rubbish!

Actually no I really loved this film, reminded me of The Tree of Life in that it actually altered my perception of the world around me afterwards. A wonderfully heady and haunting experience. It pieced itself together more than I was expecting it too as well with enough connections between the individual fragments of the plot to keep me engaged. I love movies like this that just set your mind racing afterwards.

SVG

instagram filter [(episode of the x-files)-(mulder + scully)] = upstream color

I really liked it! Particularly the score.

johnny_ultimate

Rewatched this on the big-screen last night, and fell for it all over again. It's an extraordinary feat of filmmaking from start to finish - formally, thematically and narratively almost peerless, a film for the heart just as much as the brain. A rewatch with a better understand of the basic mechanics reveal what a wonderful job Carruth has actually done implanting the film with potent visual and musical cues that tell the viewer everything they need to know. Scenes like Kris first walking through a 'crowded' house or The Sampler's metaphysical adventures through the pig pen are pure cinematic storytelling, not to mention the deeply affecting

'drowning' and climactic 'revenge' sequences.

Such accomplished, innovative works of cinematic craft are thin on the ground, and Carruth's film is simply intoxicating. I wanted to rewatch it almost immediately.

Disappointed but not particularly shocked it only lasted a week in both the IFI and Lighthouse. At least it's easily legal accessible.

conorhal

Nice review Johhny. It really is one of those films that stays with you after you leave the cinema, like waking from a particulary potent lucid dream who's meaning you grasp at as it slips away. Quite a unique film (and I hate using the word) 'experience'.

tok9

Just finished watching it there.

I think I have a general understanding of what the film was about but I'd definitely need to rewatch it to get my head around a few scenes.

If nothing else the movie is a visual treat and the soundtrack is absolutely amazing (Currently listening to A Low and Distant Sound Gradually Swelling and Increasing)

charlie_says

I have tried to watch this twice and just got bored or wasn't in the mood for the kind of film that it is, or at least the 20 odd minutes or so I watched.

I also tried watching it on mushrooms (:pac:) but that didn't help either, I turned it off.

Will try one last time, maybe.

johnny_ultimate

Saw the DVD for this in the IFI shop yesterday, and couldn't believe the artwork they've chosen to sell it with. The image makes it look like a torture porn film! There's a reversible cover that's more similar to the gorgeous US artwork (although overloaded with star ratings over here) but it's a real shame tactics such as this still need to be employed.

krudler

^ Whut

Talk about misrepresenting something

e_e

haha that's as bad as the Limited Edition cover for Berberian Sound Studio:



I await the 1 star reviews on Amazon because it's not a Saw film. :pac:

indough

It looks fake, they haven't even got the name right

e_e

indough wrote: »

It looks fake, they haven't even got the name right

What do you mean?

indough

e_e wrote: »

What do you mean?

It says 'Upstream Colour' on the picture, that's not the film's title, it should read 'Upstream Color'

e_e

indough wrote: »

It says 'Upstream Colour' on the picture, that's not the film's title, it should read 'Upstream Color'

It's Upstream Colour with the UK spelling, was like that when I went to see it in the IFI too.

johnny_ultimate

It was changed for the UK / Ireland release, where 'color' isn't the correct spelling. Genuine cover, anyway, you can see it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Upstream-Colour-DVD-Amy-Seimetz/dp/B00FB7Q84O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390475804&sr=8-1&keywords=upstream+color

sweetie

Watched this on netflix and loved it. Must give primer a go now

tok9

That is an absolutely awful cover.

The most saddening thing is the film is so beautifully shot. How couldn't they take something out of that. The cover of the album would have been a much better choice and still they could have done a lot better.

Goldstein

All it needed was something like the Sampler standing in the river staring straight out with the earphones on. Or any number of the 100s of other sources of inspiration throughout the film. It's a goldmine visually. For a film overflowing with light and brightness a lazy black cover with generic horror woman feathered is a terrible misrepresentation.

Regardless of correct spelling/americanisations, Upstream Color is the name of the film. Are they planning to correct Dumb & Dumber To too? Silly road for them to go down.

johnny_ultimate

Goldstein wrote: »

Regardless of correct spelling/americanisations, Upstream Color is the name of the film. Are they planning to correct Dumb & Dumber To too? Silly road for them to go down.

Changing Dumb and Dumber To would fundamentally change the title of the film though: in the words of Rainier Wolfcastle, 'that's the joke'. Adding the 'u' to the title in no way alters the meaning or intentions of Carruth's chosen title, it simply localises it. It's basically the exact same title, just with a very minor alteration to suit cultural language variations. I have absolutely no issue with it myself, and in fact had been spelling the title with a 'u' long before there was any UK-centric marketing materials available.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

got so sucked into this I forgot to watch my breathing, realised as the credits were rolling that I'd been hyperventilating for the past hour and am now in the middle of a panic attack

I suppose that's as good as a movie gets.


I wish I'd at least read a blurb or a sentence or two about it as I spent the majority of the film

trying to figure out if the main characters were dead and only "alive" in the pigs minds, or if they were somehow connected to the pigs and I was puzzling over that so much I probably missed lots of stuff

zarquon

sweetie wrote: »

Watched this on netflix and loved it. Must give primer a go now

Found it boring and uninteresting myself. Primer on the other hand is incredible, a truly magnificent head spinner. You'll have to watch it a few times to figure out what is actually happening.

Sad Professor

That cover is only for the DVD. The Blu-ray artwork is closer to the original poster. Similar thing happened with Frances Ha.