Upstream Color
They soon realize they had similar experiences; Jeff lost his job as a broker due to shifting company funds around to cover for money stolen from him and attributed the incident to drug abuse.It was announced that Upstream Color was in the process of casting in Dallas, Texas, in preparation for a forty-day shoot, set to begin in early November 2011 and end in late January 2012.These people that have been affected by this are now taking back ownership of the thing that they’re connected to...I don't believe that narrative works when it's trying to teach a lesson, or speak a factual truth.The site's critical consensus reads: "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.[13] That publication later featured a full review by Scott Tobias giving it the same rating, summing up his piece: "It might be fair to argue that the resonances of Upstream Color are too obscure and internal—many viewers have and will be baffled by it—but it’s the type of art that inspires curiosity and obsession, like some beautiful object whose meaning remains tantalizingly out of reach".[14] In her review for The New York Times, Manohla Dargis also notices Malick's deep influence on Carruth, stating that it is "evident in Mr. Carruth’s emphasis on the natural world; his use of Walden; the hushed voices and many images, including some time-lapse photography of a dead pig decaying underwater, which registers as the catastrophic inverse of the time-lapse sequence of a seed sprouting underground in Days of Heaven", adding that "Mr. Malick’s influence also extends to shots of Kris and Jeff walking, whispering and touching that are not moored in a specific time but could be from the past, present or future."[16] Jeremy Kay of The Guardian thought the film "a baffling, opaque mess" and said that it "contains striking microscopic imagery, cute pigs and alarmingly aggressive foley work.D'Angelo further states that the film is "a dazzling exercise in pure form, with a cinematic syntax that’s confident and exacting yet still feels wildly spontaneous—part Kubrick, part Malick", concluding that the "most exciting aspect of Carruth’s movies, though, in the end, may be the immense respect they afford the viewer.Not only does he refuse to spoon-feed, in the tiresome manner of most Hollywood fare (and even a sizable percentage of indie films), but he continually credits you with the intelligence to infer cause from effect, presenting you with B and trusting that you’ll work out A, which remains firmly offscreen, on your own."[20] The Hollywood Reporter declared: "Carruth's is a cinema of impressions and technique, not overt meaning" and gave a positive review: "The experience of watching the film...is highly visceral and sensuous; the images possess a crystalline clarity that is exquisite, and they're dispersed in rapid rhythmic waves in a way that's especially mesmerizing during this first section.""[21] The Salt Lake Tribune reviewer wrote that the "head-scratching science-fiction drama, about people finding themselves connected to each other and a parasite's life cycle, is beautiful to watch and contemplate."[23] Similarly, The Miami Herald called it "a puzzle that may be impossible to solve", saying that Carruth's "mesmerizing use of imagery—of textures and sounds, of crisp lighting and radiant natural beauty—has a haunting, lyrical quality reminiscent of Terrence Malick...Although its title suggests a sense of direction, Upstream Color defiantly eschews a traditionally linear narrative format; it moves ahead in time but in an elliptical, hypnotic way.At the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Upstream Color received the Special Jury Award for Sound Design, which was shared by Carruth, Johnny Marshall and Pete Horner.The Georgia Film Critics Association nominated Upstream Color for six awards, including Best Picture, Director, Actress, Original Screenplay, Cinematography and Score.