Upstream Color
| Upstream Color | |
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| Directed by | Shane Carruth |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Shane Carruth |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Shane Carruth |
| Cinematography | Shane Carruth |
| Edited by |
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Production
company |
ERBP
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| Distributed by | VHX |
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Release date
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Running time
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96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50,000 |
| Box office | $584,881 |
Upstream Color is a 2013 American experimental science-fiction drama film written, directed, produced, edited, composed, designed, cast by and starring Shane Carruth. The film is the second feature directed by Carruth, best known for his 2004 debut Primer.Upstream Color stars Amy Seimetz, Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, and Thiago Martins.
Upstream Color is about two people whose behaviors are affected by a complex parasite—without knowing it—that has a three-stage life cycle in which it passes from humans to pigs to orchids. "A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives."
The film starts with a man (mentioned in the credits as the "Thief") who appears to be harvesting a type of larva for the unusual effects it has on the human mind when ingested.
At a club, Kris (Amy Seimetz) is tasered and kidnapped by the Thief. He drugs her with a strange capsule, inducing a sort of hypnotic susceptibility, which causes an extremely suggestible mental state that the Thief then exploits. He uses an elaborate set of distractions, such as getting her to create a paper chain where each link features a transcription from the book Walden, in order to distract her while performing his mind control. He eventually manipulates her to liquidate her home equity and steals a valuable collection of rare coins. Through hypnotic suggestion, Kris is prevented from consuming solid foods. She is only allowed to drink small portions of water at regulated intervals, which she is compelled to perceive as extremely refreshing and delicious. The capsule administered to Kris contains a live larva found among the leaves of the Thief's special, blue-tinged orchid flowers—a larva that presumably is infected with a roundworm that subsequently infects Kris's system. She is released from her suspension of hunger by the Thief, presumably to trigger the onset of roundworm growth. Kris binges ravenously and falls asleep in soiled clothes. She awakes in her home to find one of several large roundworms visibly crawling under her skin. She unsuccessfully attempts to remove them by using a kitchen knife.
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