Image Credit: erbp
The last time Shane Carruth was at Sundance in 2004, he brought his first film Primer, a movie about four corporate engineers who construct a scientifically-sound time-machine in the garage after-hours and proceed to experiment with time-jumping for profit. It cost only $7,000 to make, but it didn’t look or feel like it was made in someone’s garage, even though Carruth wrote, directed, produced, cast, scored, edited, provided sound and production design, and, oh yes, starred in the movie. It quickly became the buzzy must-see at that year’s festival, and it went home with the Grand Jury Prize.
Carruth hasn’t been stuck in a time loop since then, but it took nine years for him to deliver his second film, Upstream Color, which premiered at Sundance yesterday. In this surreal romantic-thriller that evokes the visual and acoustic stylings of Stanley Kubrick, a woman named Kris (Amy Seimetz) is abducted by thieves and implanted with a parasite that places her in a state of almost hypnotic compliance. When she recovers, with no real memory of what occurred, her life collapses. Until she meets Jeff (Carruth), who’s drawn to her for some reason he can’t explain. Together, they try to piece together their lives even as the universe seems to be conspiring against them.
Carruth was again a multi-hyphenate on Upstream Color, and this time, he’s even taken the next step and is supervising distribution as well. His movie will open in theaters on April 5 in New York at the IFC Center before expanding to other markets. He spoke to EW about his new movie and personifying the Sundance ethos. READ FULL STORY »
