Upstream Color

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Upstream Color

2013,

1h 36m,

Drama/

Sci-Fi

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Watchlist

87%

145 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

145 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A woman (Amy Seimetz) unwittingly undergoes a series of bizarre experiments, then meets a kindred spirit (Shane Carruth) who may have experienced the same ordeal.

Critics Consensus

As technically brilliant as it is narratively abstract, Upstream Color represents experimental American cinema at its finest -- and reaffirms Shane Carruth as a talent to watch.

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Amy Taubin

Film Comment Magazine

Aug 28, 2019

Upstream Color is a gorgeous movie-the play of sunlight in the visuals is exquisite-but its images of intestinal parasites are, well, off-putting.

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Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

metro.co.uk

Sep 5, 2017

4/5

Blending languorous visual sensuality with a driving sense of paranoid urgency, this metaphorical mix of skin-crawling body horror and Lynchian mystery boasts a compelling dream logic that offsets its huge potential for being pretentious studenty twaddle.

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Wesley Morris

Grantland

Jan 3, 2014

What the movie points to is worth following until you're left with an enormous map that you spend the rest of the drive trying to refold.

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Erick Estrada

Cinegarage

Sep 14, 2023

Disconcerting and unrealistic, malevolent and organic, emotional and bleak, Upstream Color is undoubtedly an experience that challenges those who call themselves cinephiles but rewards those who know that history exists as long as one forgets about it...

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Prahlad Srihari

Firstpost

Jul 24, 2020

4.5/5

Parasitic worms and pig farms, past and present, real and surreal, Whitman and Thoreau all come together in this strangely sensual concoction.

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Brent McKnight

The Last Thing I See

Jul 9, 2020

A

Thematically huge, spiritual in nature, sweeping and epic despite a seemingly limited scope, this is a story about the human experience, about healing yourself and others, and that defies easy classification.

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Ron W

Feb 27, 2019

This star is for the beautiful modernist soundtrack. The movie is absolutely boring and incoherent excepting the first 15 minutes. Pretentious as f&#$. I liked Primer though.

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Han P

Jan 28, 2019

experimental sci-fi film as it is.

Leia P

Jan 17, 2019

Original sci-fi /body horror genre movie worthy of multiple viewings. Great techno soundtrack composed by the director. Pay attention to the "hand" motif throughout the movie. There is great chemistry between the two stars who are a couple in real life. The movie has a stye of an ethereal David Cronenberg. It will not appeal to all viewers.

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George S

Dec 11, 2018

Despite the atmosphere, it's sad to say there's nothing much else here.

Anakin R

Oct 18, 2018

not for everyone, but an outstanding achievement in avant garde cinema. Carruth is one of the most interesting young directors.

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Anakin R

Sep 1, 2018

Visually mesmerizing and undeniably creative, this experimental sci-fi drama may have its plot buried under thickets of vague editing and dialogue, but creator of "Primer" Shane Carruth definitely shows more than enough evidence that he is a low-budget film-making force to keep on the radar. (and the title will surprisingly make sense, too!)

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Synopsis

A woman (Amy Seimetz) unwittingly undergoes a series of bizarre experiments, then meets a kindred spirit (Shane Carruth) who may have experienced the same ordeal.

Director: Shane Carruth
Producer: Shane Carruth, Casey Gooden, Ben LeClair
Screenwriter: Shane Carruth
Production Co: ERBP
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 4, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $415.1K
Runtime: 1h 36m

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