Upstream Color (2013) poster
2013 · sci-fi · drama · romance

Upstream Color

Directed by Shane Carruth1h 36m2013
ElsewhereIMDb6.536kRT87%Metacritic81TMDB6.3812
  • measured
  • surreal
  • twisty
  • signature
Movie DNA

Neutral, measured, measured sci-fi / drama, surreal in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured, hand-scored across twelve axes of taste.

How every film is hand-scored →

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.

Our read · Upstream Color (2013) reads as a neutral, measured, surreal sci-fi · drama · romance entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook, with a strong directorial signature. Hand-scored on twelve axes of taste — mood, pacing, weirdness, hope, stakes, humour, reality, density, warmth, auteur, intensity, and era — with a derived palette drawn from its dominant cinematography.

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Availability in Estonia · via JustWatch

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The shape of Upstream Color

Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

You want hypnotic puzzle-box sci-fi that rewards total sensory attention.

ends ambiguousit stays with youmeditativegrips by minute 15attention 5/5earns its length
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around
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Skip it tonightYou need clear plot logic or anything gross about parasites tonight.

DNA · twelve axes

The reading.

Each axis is hand-scored — not derived from votes or genre averages. The marker shows where this film sits; the gradient fill uses the film's own cinematography palette.

Mood · HeavyCosy
Pacing · Slow-burnKinetic
Intensity · GentleExtreme
Weirdness · ConventionalSurreal
Hope · NihilisticRedemptive
Stakes · IntimateEpic
Humour · NoneBroad
Reality · GroundedFantastical
Density · SparseTwisty
Warmth · ColdTender
Auteur · TransparentSignature
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