Although I didn't really get Primer, I definitely admire the ambition of the low budget and the idea. Here, on Curruth's long awaited followup, he certainly has a bigger budget for a slicker effect. On an aesthetic level, Upstream Color is beautiful. The photography is elegant with its great muted colour palette. The editing is precise, cutting like a Terrence Malick film and emulating his style very well. The sound design and music are wonderfully crisp and ethereal. It's really unfortunate that the story doesn't have the same mystifying effect. The characters aren't developed in the slightest so the shards of drama and conflict I did catch are completely lost on me and feel quite ridiculous. The film doesn't offer opportunity for investment in the characters, caring more for the technicals. But that's okay, with "montage" films like these, it's usually the themes that prevail. Unfortunately they're not concise enough to work and I ended up not getting much more out of Upstream Color than a pretty picture.
7/10
7/10