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[distantmantra]

I saw this film on Friday night here in Seattle (gotta love $3 movies at the Crest), and although I'm scratching head over the last 1/4 of the movie, I absolutely enjoyed it. I was wondering if anyone else has seen it and would love to discuss the film.

For those who don't know, Primer won the grand jury prize at Sundance this year, it was made for just about $7,000 and is fantastic. Here is a synopsis if you want to know more:

"At night and on weekends, four men in a suburban garage have built a cottage industry of error-checking devices. But, they know that there is something more. There is some idea, some mechanism, some accidental side effect that is standing between them and a pure leap of innovation. And so, through trial and error they are building the device that is missing most.

The story of "Primer" is what happens when two of these men find the device and immediately realize that it is too valuable to market. The limit of their trust in each other is strained when they are faced with the question, "If you always want what you can't have, what do you want when you can have anything?" "

 

[FnordChan]

I was wondering if anyone else has seen it and would love to discuss the film.

Can't say I'd love to discuss it, but I'll throw in my two cents. I thought it was an interesting flick, looked great, and was damned impressive for 7k. I also thought the ending was just too damn incoherant for it's own good. I liked that they implied a lot of the plot rather than spelling it out, but, you know, sometimes it's nice to have at least one or two things spelled out for you.

FnordChan

 

[distantmantra]

Can't say I'd love to discuss it, but I'll throw in my two cents. I thought it was an interesting flick, looked great, and was damned impressive for 7k. I also thought the ending was just too damn incoherant for it's own good. I liked that they implied a lot of the plot rather than spelling it out, but, you know, sometimes it's nice to have at least one or two things spelled out for you.

FnordChan

I didn't feel it was confusing for confusing's sale like a lot of recent films, but I agree, near the end I was totally lost, I had no idea if we were seeing doubles, the originals, etc. What was with the old man and then that one scene where they're standing around that fountain looking for someone's cat?

 

[FnordChan]

I didn't feel it was confusing for confusing's sale like a lot of recent films, but I agree, near the end I was totally lost, I had no idea if we were seeing doubles, the originals, etc.

I'm not sure if it's trying to be deliberatly obtuse, or if the ending just kinda falls apart. Probably a bit of both.

What was with the old man and then that one scene where they're standing around that fountain looking for someone's cat?

My pals and I spent a fair amount of time afterwards hashing out the film. We're not sure exactly what happened there, but my theory is that it's either a red herring or a larger plot thread that got axed during editing.

FnordChan

 

[distantmantra]

I'm not sure if it's trying to be deliberatly obtuse, or if the ending just kinda falls apart. Probably a bit of both.

My pals and I spent a fair amount of time afterwards hashing out the film. We're not sure exactly what happened there, but my theory is that it's either a red herring or a larger plot thread that got axed during editing.

My girlfriend and I sat in a 24 hour diner in Seattle discussing what we had just viewed until 2am when we decided to go home. My thinking is that their doubles started doing things, but they ended up in the situations the others had set into motion. Did people die at the end? What the hell?

In any event, for $7,000 and their first time making a film, it was sure was clever.

You know that in about four months when this hits DVD, we're going to see a plethora of Primer threads....

 

[FnordChan]

My girlfriend and I sat in a 24 hour diner in Seattle discussing what we had just viewed until 2am when we decided to go home. My thinking is that their doubles started doing things, but they ended up in the situations the others had set into motion. Did people die at the end? What the hell?

As best we could understand, based on half-remembered conversations:

Spoiler

They were trying to stop someone from dying at this party, for whatever reason. At the same time, Aaron (hope I named the right guy, I forget which is which) built another machine, then put it inside a machine, thus creating a back-up. This led to his having a lot of doubles running around, which he later started killing off. Apparently this didn't cause any sort of paradox. In the end, Aaron decided, "to hell with it", skipped town, and is shown making a big-ass machine for vaguely nefarious purposes.

Or something kinda like that.

In any event, for $7,000 and their first time making a film, it was sure was clever.

Damn straight. For $7,000 a no-budget SF film about time-travel is a terrific, workable idea. Of course, it helps if the end product is coherant.

You know that in about four months when this hits DVD, we're going to see a plethora of Primer threads....

Boy howdy are we ever.

FnordChan