My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: "O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!"

12 August 2005

Movie



It is so very rare that I get to recommend a movie, so today is a rare day.

Last night, I watched Primer, an independent film made for about $7000. It is something of a science-fiction/plot-twister kind of movie. Premise: four guys make stuff in the garage when they're not working. Two guys find that one of their inventions has the unintended consequence of making whatever's inside the box repeat the same minute over and over. That's right, time travel. But no big flashes or neon lights. The kick to this movie is when these two guys, Aaron & Abe, start doing some minor time travelling (supposedly for things like playing the stock market) and their lives start to unravel. Things start to happen between the two friends and their doubles and soon the viewer is just trying to play catch up, and that lasts pretty much for the rest of the movie.

Despite its low budget, it is a beautifully-made film, with understated (i.e., not over-acted) dialogue. Directly upon stopping the movie, I retreated to the internet to try to figure out the plot turns, most of which escaped me. I think I'm now ready for my second viewing.

So, go find it somewhere and watch it [caveat: it's rated pg-13 for corase language, which must have slipped by me]. It'll make you think, which is so very, very rare from the box of mindlessness.

3 comments:

Ryan Cerbus said...

you want to do your second viewing at our house monday night? i've been wanting to watch that movie ever since i read WORLD's review of it.

Michael said...

I borrowed that one from the library a while ago. It really makes you think about the results of your actions. Really good for the resources available to make the film.

Jared said...

ryan - as I got bidness monday night, you're welcome to come and borrow it, since it's the library's copy anyway. I love the library here; they let me reserve movies online and there's no late fee.