I get a sense, when watching Shane Carruth, films that I've missed something important, or something happened that I didn't fully understand and I maybe need to watch two or three more times to really appreciate what's going on. It's interesting to me that his films are able to do this because, on the surface Upstream Color is very sparse and it doesn't seem like lots of things are going on that need your undivided attention, but the visuals and interconnected narratives are so dense and detailed that you absolutely do benefit from paying constant  attention.

I immediately read quite a bit about this film after I finished it, and I feel like I have come away with a sufficient understanding of the plot and what happened and why, and it's another fascinating sci-fi film from Shane Carruth that feels both familiar and completely different to anything else I've seen before.

I find it really tricky to write about films that don't really focus on a specific story, because that's normally what I'd focus on. Instead, Upstream Color is about taking control of your own life as it tends to chaos, how our lives intertwine, and how something beautiful can come from something truly traumatic. How can you review that?

To me, this is a very beautiful, unsettling, bittersweet film about losing control of your life through no fault of your own (really the malice of others), taking back control, and breaking the cycle for your own sake and the sake of others. It's not easy to watch - my emotions were very close to the surface throughout, but it's something I'd recommend if any of the above sounds like something you'd like. It's one of those films where the score is essential but I don't think it'd stand alone on headphones.