88% Upstream Color

All Critics (85) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (74) | Rotten (10) | DVD (1)

A cerebral, mournful mystery that resonates like a tuning fork struck on a far-off star.

It presents us with a glimpse of the vastness of existence, of our inner nature, and of nature without that is as equally dreadful, enveloping, and terrifying as it is beautiful.

"Upstream Color" is splendid, transcendent weirdness.

Sci-fi might have been too familiar a word, for what may induce a kind of hallucinatory melancholy in its viewers.

Elliptical and utterly fascinating adventure in cinema, one that defies simple explanations, but worms its way into the brain.

For those prepared to go with the abstraction, Upstream Color is a rewarding and mind-blowing experience.

Shane Carruth's Upstream Color might even be better than his previous effort, Primer... [It's] a marvel of sci-fi storytelling.

Carruth's experimental style has a certain level of artistry, and the film contains enough ambitious ideas to make it worthwhile.

A sumptuous enigma that's intricately constructed and beautifully shot, a film that would make Terrence Malick blush

Carruth's complex and muted thriller is exquisitely made and acted. It's a film that challenges the viewer provoking fine existential questions.

May represent a milestone in modern indie cinema, or at least a steppingstone between the smart microbudget work signified by star Amy Seimetz and the more grandiose aspirations associated with someone like -- dare I invoke the name? -- Stanley Kubrick.

Very few movies actually invite us in, meet us halfway, or offer us something. Upstream Color does that in such a unique, singular way that it's unlike almost any other movie I've ever seen.

Those who require a beating pulse to set the tempo for jigsaw puzzle moviegoing are hereby warned, as Carruth isn't interested in making things easy. He wants to squeeze your mind, not hold your hand.

It's not designed to stump or baffle but to beckon you into its wondrously chilly gray world. If it takes a few viewings to unlock (most of) its secrets then lucky you; you spent high-quality time you might have wasted on Pain & Gain.

If Shane Carruth's time-traveling debut Primer was about outthinking what you might do in the future, his second movie, Upstream Color, is about deciphering why you feel the way you do right now.

I have no idea what it was about, and I can't wait to see it again.

My immediate desire when it ended was to stay in my seat and watch it all the way through again.

Swooning, frightening, intoxicating, and a cinematic experience that feels genuinely new.

...works on its own idiosyncratic wavelength, one that isn't alienating, but isn't quite approachable either.

Its plot isn't particularly complicated, but it is undeniably weird. if you accept the movie on its own terms, you'll feel like you've been pulled into a creepy yet compelling dream.

Shane Carruth continues to grow as a filmmaker even as he remains keen to puzzle and perhaps frustrate. Upstream Color is, above all else, an unforgettable experience.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/upstream_color/

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