Shane Carruth, Amy Seimetz in “Upstream Color”
“UPSTREAM COLOR” My rating: B (Opening April 26 at the Alamo Draft House)
96 minutes | No MPAA rating
Those who like their narratives neat, concise and uncluttered had best avoid Shane Carruth’s “Upstream Color.” It’s a film for those who found Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” too conventional.
Still, it makes more sense than Carruth’s previous (and first) feature effort, the 2004 time travel oddity ” Primer.”
“Making sense” is a relative thing when dealing with Carruth. Narratively “Upstream Color” defies cateogrization or easy explanation. You could call it science fiction. Or maybe not.
You could say the movie makes no sense.
And yet it makes sense emotionally.
Here’s what I can say with certainty about the fragmentary story: A young woman named Kris (Amy Seimetz) is abducted and subjected to some sort of mind-control therapy. In a zombie-like state she returns to her home with a flat-voiced handler (Thiago Martins) who has her memorize Thoreau’s “On Walden Pond.” Kris is told that her mother has been kidnapped and she must come up with a ransom.
When she finally emerges from her stupor she imagines (or is it really happening?) that maggot-like worms are wriggling just under her skin. She is disoriented, lost.
Kris loses her job because of her unexplained absense, and is distressed to find that her bank account has been emptied. She is shown footage of herself making the withdrawl, but remembers none of it.
She harbors a vague sense of having been violated. Her OB/GYN tells her that her sexual organs have been damaged, rearranged, and that she will never have children.
Butler's Cinema Scene 