Upstream Color

"You can force your story's shape, but the color will always bloom upstream."

2013 1h 36m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 837

DramaScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the lifecycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.

“You can force your story's shape, but the color will always bloom upstream.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Amy Seimetz
Kris
Shane Carruth
Jeff
Andrew Sensenig
The Sampler
Thiago Martins
Thief
Carolyn King
Wife
Mollie Milligan
Maggie
Myles McGee
Monty
Ashton Miramontes
Lucas

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Shane Carruth
Writers: Shane Carruth
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Lowery shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Amy Seimetz and Shane Carruth and Andrew Sensenig carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You can force your story's shape, but the color will always bloom upstream.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2084989 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Shane Carruth directs. David Lowery cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 4.4× over at the box office.
3Released 13 years ago.
4Editor David Lowery shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Amy Seimetz and Shane Carruth and Andrew Sensenig carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "You can force your story's shape, but the color will always bloom upstream.".
7IMDB entry: tt2084989 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 8 themes, including "hope", "sadness", "hypnosis", "loss".

The technical file

Editing: David Lowery
Production design: Tom Walker
Costume design: Annell Brodeur
Makeup / hair: Heather Henry
Sound: Johnny Marshall
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Status: Released
Budget: $100,000
Box office: $444,098
Return: 444% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Upstream Color (2013)

Awards

Sundance Special Jury Prize for Sound Design Dramatic

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Shane Carruth

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

artlawless2019-01-23
★ 7/10
After almost 9 years since Primer, Shane Carruth returned with his next film, Upstream Color. Once again, Shane played multiple roles in the creation of this film – producer (one of), director, writer, actor (one of), music director, cinematographer and editor (one of). The film was made with a tiny budget of $50,000, wow, talk about being efficient. The story is not a convoluted one like Primer, which was based on time travel. That said, it’s not very straightforward either. It does talk about some unreal patterns and could get hard to understand at times. Do give it a watch if you haven’t already.

Production companies