Film Diary 2013: Upstream Colour

Upstream Colour is both a familiar and different creation altogether. Primer always had the benefit of being about something reasonably relatable, there was no doubt that it was a time travel movie, albeit one densely packed with technical dialogue. Upstream Colour doesn't really have an idea as mainstream at its core, but that's not to say it's an impenetrable and abstract film.

From the very first scene there are strong visual clues as to the meaning behind Upstream Colour, and beyond that the film is littered with beautiful, evocative and provocative images. Largely, confidentally, the film plays out without much conversation or exposition, but Carruth shows his gift as a visual storyteller creating some very simple, elegant in points to the film's strange narrative.

We meet Kris (Amy Seimetz) when she is grabbed in a bar by a stranger (Thiago Martins), who in a shocking, uncomfortable rain-soaked scene drugs her with a worm found in blue orchids. The properties of this worm give the stranger a hypnotic control over Kris and he manipulates her into signing over the equity on her home.

Waking from this, unaware of what has happened, after painful failed attempts to remove the growing parasite, Kris stumbles upon a man (Andrew Sensenig) playing sampled music in a clearing to encourage earthworms to rise up from the ground, he operates on Kris, removing the worm and transferring it into the body of a pig, in a lucid, skin-crawling sequence. There's disturbing allegory to a lot of what befalls Kris in this opening act, and it's to Seimetz and Carruth's testament that it is handled with insightful honesty lending weight to what might otherwise be surreal and indulgent.

From here the film gets closer in tone to Primer, when Kris meets Jeff (played by Carruth, who alongside writing, producing and directing also co-edited the film and composed the score), they begin a tentative relationship after Jeff eventually approaches her after sharing train rides to work together. This is intercut with the life of the man gathering his found sound samples and tending to his pigs.

Undoubtedly Carruth has made the film he set out to make, and there is minimal concession to anyone else in the telling of his story, he is a gloriously selfish film-maker, but in many respects that is what makes his work so rewarding. He trusts the audience and doesn't necessarily mind if they dislike his work, this is undoubtedly a divisive film and there's no particular formula of filmgoer who is going to enjoy this work.

Personally, I found it consistently intriguing, enjoying both letting it wash over me as much as I relished trying to understand and deconstruct its various meanings. You need to abandon a sense of worry about "being wrong" with regards to the film's meaning, no matter what it may mean to the filmmakers, it's asking for you to bring meaning to it as well. Carruth uses real life in such a way as to make it seem far-fetched, distanced and alien, there is hardly anything in the picture that is extraordinary yet it feels just that. Finding out how it effects others, whether they loved it, hated it or remain utterly indifferent, is all part of the experience.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here