Upstream Color

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Upstream Color

2013

1h 36m

Drama

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

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

08/28/2019

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

09/05/2017

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

01/03/2014

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

09/14/2023

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

07/24/2020

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

07/09/2020

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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A J

@RT09090618 Nov 15

One of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. I can't unsee it. Brilliant in its way. But I'd avoid it a second time.

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Georgan G

@RT98616417 02/28/2024

All for experimental film and the cinematography here was truly beautiful. However, I did not understand the plot at all.

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David W

@RT91245001 09/20/2023

Describing this film as experimental is somewhat apt, though misguided might be more so. The plot is frustratingly difficult to follow. Having seen it all the way through, I could barely tell you what it is about. Dynamic audiovisuals keep the viewer's interest. Having seen this once, I feel no desire to watch it again.

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Emilliano Jr S

@emill_santos 08/24/2023

Sci-fi & romance don't go along sometimes.

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Andy B

@AndyB21 04/21/2023

I still do not know what to make of this film. Not good, not bad, just bizarre.

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Siriporn P

@Malee 02/09/2023

Difficult to understand. Quite abstract and dreamy portrayal.

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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