Upstream Color (2013)

A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.

Director:

Shane Carruth

Writer:

Shane Carruth

Stars:

Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amy Seimetz	...	Kris
Shane Carruth	...	Jeff
Andrew Sensenig	...	The Sampler
Thiago Martins	...	Thief
Kathy Carruth	...	Orchid Mother
Meredith Burke	...	Orchid Daughter
Andreon Watson	...	Peter
Ashton Miramontes	...	Lucas
Myles McGee	...	Monty
Frank Mosley	...	Husband
Carolyn King	...	Wife
Kerry McCormick	...	OB / GYN
Marco Antonio Rodriguez	...	MRI Tech
Brina Palencia	...	Woman in Club
Lynn Blackburn	...	HR Manager

Storyline

A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.

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Plot Keywords:

actor director writer | two word title

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 2013 (USA)

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$28,649 (USA) (5 April 2013)

Gross:

$415,067 (USA) (17 May 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

erbp

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film that Kris is editing at the beginning of the movie is A Topiary, the film that Shane Carruth had begun production on before deciding to film Upstream Color instead.

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Quotes

Thief: The water before you is somehow special. When you drink it you feel revived and full of energy. It is better than anything you've ever tasted. Take a drink now.

User Reviews

An Overwhelming Masterpiece (For Some)

Make no mistake about it: Shane Carruth makes Christopher Nolan look like Jerry Bruckheimer. If you're not the type who relished figuring out what was going on in MEMENTO (and in its untold backstory), if you haven't spent countless pleasant hours debating INCEPTION, do yourself a favor and skip this movie. As you can tell from the other reviews here, this will just make you mad. If, OTOH, you're someone (like me) who felt let down by LOOPER because it didn't live up to its billing as mind-scrambling and was in fact too easy to get, then this may be just your thing.

Key take-home points:

-- For fans of this sort of storytelling, there's plenty of stuff that's reasonably easy to get, and hence the basic storyline is not hard to follow.

-- OTOH, there are bits that are clearly important and that just as clearly will take three or four viewings (and probably liberal use of pause and rewind) to get. That's Carruth's narrative aesthetic: rather than give you one big "OMG I think I understand this" experience, like in VERTIGO, or two, like the first and second times you see THE PRESTIGE, he wants those bombs of comprehension to explode in your skull gradually, over many viewings.

-- At all points in time I felt that every shot was important, every shot contained information. It never felt like art for art's sake. That of course is partly my trust of Carruth, but I also think I got that feeling because *it's true.* This isn't LOST, folks. This is all designed to eventually cohere completely, leaving holes only where Carruth intends, and leaving the viewer knowing quite a bit and knowing precisely what is unknowable.

-- It's exquisite. Carruth has a directorial and editing (and composing) style that I find transfixing (YMMV, of course). Unlike PRIMER, it's at times beautiful and emotionally resonant. My friend was reduced to tears. It has thematic weight already and I know it will acquire more as the story coheres with repeat viewings.

-- Speaking of which, even though I'll be watching the Blu-Ray on May 7 on a great home theater, my friend and I will see this again at the theater next weekend. That's how blown away we were.