Primer

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  • Primer

    Primer.

    Who else has seen it? I knew a few of you have.

    It's honestly one of my favorite films, and one of the best I have ever watched. It's an absolute mind****, but in the most amazing way possible. I read up about it for several days before I actually sat down to watch it. I knew the plot, and had looked at diagrams. And then I watched it and was still confused as hell.

    But even better, I had the undying urge to watch it again immediately. I kind of wish I did, to be honest. I've still only seen it once. I want to watch it a few more time because it's just that good. And because I still can't understand the damn thing.

    For those of you who haven't seen it... Yes, it is about time travel. From Amazon:

    "Primer won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and has drawn repeat viewers eager to crack writer-director-star Shane Carruth's puzzler of a time-travel drama. Carruth, an engineer by training, plays inventor Aaron, whose entrepreneurial partnership with fellow brainiac Abe (David Sullivan) unexpectedly results in a process for traveling back several hours in time. The men initially use these rewind sessions to succeed in the stock market. But a dark consequence of their daily journeys eventually complicates matters. If this sounds like a very commercial, science fiction thriller, Primer is anything but that. Shot on 16mm for $7,000, the film has a tantalizing, sealed-in logic, akin to Memento, that forces viewers to see the fantastic with a certain dispassion. One may be tempted to sit through Primer again to more fully understand its paradoxes and ethical quandaries.
    "
    If you search Google Video you will find it there for free. Please, do yourself a favor and watch it.

    INT. PINEAPPLE - DAY



  • #2
    Re: Primer

    I watched it twice the night I rented it. Great flick.
    "Tone is now engaged in a furious Google search for Leighton Meester's keester." -- A friend of mine

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Primer

      I'm still not sure whether this was one of those completely lucky accidents with a guy who had no clue what he was doing. I saw a Q&A with him after a screening and just about everyone in the audience knew more about filmmaking than he did. The way he cobbled together single takes and didn't have so much as a foot of film more than what he used...I don't know. I kept thinking, "Is this confusing because it's well thought-out and masterfully crafted, or is this confusing because he's confused?"

      Discuss?
      Script Reviews - 5 a week! http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/

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      • #4
        Re: Primer

        I hardly know her!

        Sorry. Couldn't help myself.
        "Tone is now engaged in a furious Google search for Leighton Meester's keester." -- A friend of mine

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Primer

          He taught himself physics for the sake of the film as they were making it. And I wouldn't doubt that he was confused. One diagram I found for the film showed that there may have been as many as nine timelines overlain to form the single linear one we saw.

          I mean seriously...my time travel flick has only five (2 long, 3 very short) and I have trouble keeping track of it, especially in the second half. Granted, I also have scenes that jump to a narrator, and scenes that flash to the protag in a specific 5 minute section of his life. But compared to Primer, it's exceedingly simple to follow. It's hard to explain, but simple on paper.

          But Primer is just a complete mind**** no matter how you look at it. Even as a diagram I can't follow it. It's no wonder Shane Carruth was confused.

          INT. PINEAPPLE - DAY


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          • #6
            Re: Primer

            He definitely needed Daniel Farraday to help him.
            Script Reviews - 5 a week! http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Primer

              Originally posted by Ralphy W View Post
              I hardly know her!

              Sorry. Couldn't help myself.
              Now if I only knew wtf you were talking about. I fear this might become a recurring problem between us.

              INT. PINEAPPLE - DAY


              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Primer

                Primer?! I hardly know her!

                It's like "Faulkner?! I hardly know her!" only sillier.
                "Tone is now engaged in a furious Google search for Leighton Meester's keester." -- A friend of mine

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Primer

                  (You must remember, I'm incredibly drunk right now. Near passed-out drunk.)
                  "Tone is now engaged in a furious Google search for Leighton Meester's keester." -- A friend of mine

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Primer

                    Originally posted by wilsoneads View Post
                    He definitely needed Daniel Farraday to help him.
                    Frak me sideways, I adore Faraday... Everything he does is gold, on top of more gold, on top of, well...you get my point.

                    But I think explaining to the watchers of the movie that the island is like a skipping record would just confuse them even more. Given that, you know, there's no whackass island in it.

                    INT. PINEAPPLE - DAY


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                    • #11
                      Re: Primer

                      Originally posted by Ralphy W View Post
                      Primer?! I hardly know her!

                      It's like "Faulkner?! I hardly know her!" only sillier.
                      She's just like a piece of beef to you, isn't she? A moist, hot, melt in your mouth hunk of meat. A firm and juicy...

                      Oh man, I can't take it anymore. Pass the steaksauce!

                      INT. PINEAPPLE - DAY


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                      • #12
                        Re: Primer

                        I just watched this again.


                        SPOILERS













                        "Are you hungry? I haven't eaten since later this afternoon" is a GREAT line.













                        END SPOILERS
                        "Tone is now engaged in a furious Google search for Leighton Meester's keester." -- A friend of mine

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Primer

                          Yeah, I watched it too over the weeked. Freaking loved that line.

                          I was even more impressed with the film the second time around. I mean, I really love a challenging movie. I like something that makes me think. I like something where tiny innocuous details in the beginning, like Aaron's earpiece, end up being so much more.

                          INT. PINEAPPLE - DAY


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                          • #14
                            Re: Primer

                            I love time travel movies but I just thought the movie was boring. It felt like it was a filmed version of a research report. It was technical and everything but movies are supposed to be cinematic.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Primer

                              Probably the best film about science/time mishap. Pretty ****ing fantastic. Surprisingly low budget - mediocre acting, IMO - but I was not necessarily angered by it - smart writing - disorienting writing - good stuff.

                              I only watched it once and haven't had a chance to see it again, but after seeing this topic I think I'm gonna go by it.

                              If you haven't seen Primer, you are not in your prime. Actually, you kind of suck. Now go see it.

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