Upstream Color (2013)

[Plain Old Tele]

...downstream logic.

[Gopher]

I've never seen a movie like this before. There's some Mulholland Drive and Eternal Sunshine mixed in here- a bit of Malick as well- but a surprising amount is Shane Carruth's wholly unique voice. It's a hazy, dreamlike film, and his semi-impressionistic approach dramatically heightens the emotional weight of two very damaged people trying to figure their lives out through each other. 

 

And the wonderful thing about it- beyond, y'know, stunning sound design, gorgeous digital cinematography, awe-inspiring editing and a performance to behold in Amy Seimetz- is that all the interpretations I've heard of it certainly work. They come to the same conclusions about the film. So in this case, the quest to discover what it means not only has merit behind it, but it becomes an emotional experience in and of itself. 

 

See it. Don't read any plot details, don't go in with any idea of what to expect. Just see it. 

[CoolioD1]

I'm having a hard time collecting my thoughts so this is going to be an especially shit review from me:

 

For me, Upstream Color works almost entirely as a visceral experience, I mean, I think I have a pretty good idea of how the whole plot connects but even if I didn't I doubt I would care much. I mainly connect to it through the idea of a woman who's gone through an extremely traumatic experience and struggles to rebuilt her live, comes across another individual who's been fucked up and they fall in love. And that's where the film really gets me, as a love story, which I wasn't expecting from reviews I'd seen just talking about how weird it is.

 

Anywho, it's all beautifully told, in fact the film is a sensory overload thanks to the amazing cinematography, sound design, and minimalistic score (all of which is done by Carruth himself). Upstream Color is overwhelming, absolutely superlative filmmaking. Just let it wash over you and you'll be in for quite a time.

[Ezen Baklattan]

In a fair world, Shane Carruth will be nominated for Best Director. His vision for this movie is nearly perfect, with every detail working exactly as it should. I'm not lying when I say that this may be the best use of sound that I have ever seen in film.

 

I totally loved this movie.  It's a complete out-of-body experience, and for us, that's a good thing.

 

For the characters, not so much....

[Jack Nevada]

So.. errr.. how about that Upstream Color?

 

Okay, I'd be lying if I said I understood this movie on a cerebral level. I didn't. Its bizarre, abstract and will most likely give a New York intellectual a screaming orgasm. While I dont think the movie itself is necessarily pretentious I can see a lot of pretentiousness forming around it, like people analyzing and intellectualizing it to death. I dont see the point of that, because I'm not sure Upstream Color really is anything but a collection of fascinating visions, emotions, themes and dreamlike moodscapes. What is sure, however, is that it is a really interesting piece of work, beautifully directed, edited and scored by Shane Carruth, that for being as challenging and arty as it is held my interest pretty well throughout its length. It has some of the same qualities of Tree of Life, like you never fully understand whats going on but you're still looking forward to what they're going to throw at you next, even though at one point they almost lost me. 

 

But boy, do I need to see this again a few times. 

 

4/5

Edited May 5, 2013 by Jack Nevada

[acsc1312]

Can't wait to see this on Tuesday

[acsc1312]

I'm glad I bought it rather than just renting it, as multiple viewings are definitely necessary. What a beautifully made film this was, though.

 

A- (for now)

[acsc1312]

Welcome to the dark side, Jack

[Jack Nevada]

Welcome to the dark side, Jack

Hey, I'm not totally a film snob yet like you and Gopher as I liked Olympus Has Fallen. I like to see my movie taste as.. colorful. 

 

 

[mattmav45]

Will this be released on Blu-ray?It's available to stream, but I'd prefer to wait for the Blu-ray if that is going to happen in the future.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Will this be released on Blu-ray?It's available to stream, but I'd prefer to wait for the Blu-ray if that is going to happen in the future.

Amazon has it listed that you can buy it now.  I might buy the Blu ray right now.

[ChD]

Now that some time has passed, I'm starting to think this movie is actually really, really overrated

Edited July 29, 2014 by ChD

[mattmav45]

I mean this in the best way possible: What the fuck did I just watch?This is about as abstract as you can get outside of Terrence Malick, and yet I I was thoroughly engrossed a few minutes in. Re-watches are a must, but this is a fascinating film that once again reminded me that cinema is in its most powerful form as a feeling, mood, and emotion.

[4815162342]

I'm a little shocked that some of the cynical cinephiles here didn't complain about the happy-ending coda where all the evildoers get just desserts and the farm becomes a magic-happy place.

[Gopher]

Kris and Jeff deserved a happy ending. I'm glad they got one.

[RichWS]

Still my favorite of the year.

[4815162342]

Kris and Jeff deserved a happy ending. I'm glad they got one.

 

I agree, the film earned its ending. Just kinda surprised that some of the cinephiles here bought it since they tend to like the more cynical and downbeat offerings

[Gopher]

I don't think us cinephiles prefer cynical downbeat things, regardless of what baumer has been saying.

[4815162342]

I liked this film a good bit, found it very smart and precise in how it framed and set up things. I'm not entirely sold on it being one of the year's best because I think some of its cleverness and dancing around and impressionism was there more for the sake of it than anything else, which is fine for art in general but can be a tad off-putting in a movie.

 

But the characters and their progression and connection to a story were loads better than Malick's disinterested offerings of recent years.

[acsc1312]

Still my favorite of the year.

Over Midnight? Shame on you!