Upstream Color

Shane Carruth's first film since his 2004 award-winning debut Primer is a somewhat freaky experimental feature. Kris (Amy Seimetz) is a young woman who is assaulted by a man identified only as Thief (Thiago Martins), who forces her to swallow a larva that somehow turns her into his brainwashed slave. Kris must do whatever Thief commands, culminating in the emptying of her bank account. After being abandoned by her captor, Kris realizes that the larva she ingested has grown into a living worm inside her. She is then picked up by someone identified as Sampler (Andrew Sensenig), who appears to be a combination of sound recording engineer, surgeon, and pig farmer. Sampler hypnotizes Kris via an electronic wave and surgically removes the worm for deposit into a pig. Carruth himself turns up as Jeff—a mysterious figure who may have survived a similar experience—seeking to bond with Kris in a series of weirdly elliptical conversations. Needless to say, Upstream Color will confuse and perhaps even irritate viewers with little or no patience for avant-garde work. But those eager to be challenged by provocative filmmaking will be amazed at Carruth's boldly idiosyncratic production design and his willingness to wrap multiple genres into a stylish and disturbing cinematic experience that looks and sounds like no other contemporary film. One of the year's most original works, this is highly recommended. (P. Hall)