John's Fake Nantucket Crisis

August 27, 2017 4:10 PM

The sound of the ocean. Two men walk along a waterfront. A young narrator, "People tried to help him. They knew he was searching. He listened... but he knew he was alone." A man stands alone on the beach. "They didn't know him." ... I think? It's mumbled. Anyway, that's it, the whole video: John's Fake Nantucket Crisis is the first clip on the erbp production company's vimeo channel since their last film, Upstream Color.

It's been a few months since Tom 'Spiderman' Holland called Shane Carruth's script for The Modern Ocean 'the best script he's ever read,' [Adam Chitwood, Collider] and a few years since the big-budget, big-name project was announced [Borys Kit & Pamela McClintock, Hollywood Reporter]. But it sounds like things are gearing up,

Shane Carruth: So the ocean is a place where I can set a story on a world stage. The ocean is not policed in any kind of perfect way. And a lot of things happen out there that, you know, it's sort of every man for himself or every group of men for themselves.

[Interview with Clinton Nguyen at Motherboard/Vice]

And while I'm usually a big fan of the surreal super-short film post, this time it's worth rounding out a bit with We'll Find Something –a short film (12m) from the producer of Upstream Color starring Amy Seimetz and Shane Carruth.

posted by carsonb (9 comments total)

I really need to get around to watching Upstream Color already.
posted by Samizdata at 4:20 PM on August 27, 2017 [5 favorites]

Is it backdated as some kind of stunt? The apparent upload date is September 5, 2008.
posted by rodlymight at 6:20 PM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

ALERT Upstream color agitates the Higgs field, watch with caution. I am pleased about a new Carruth film. Upstream color fucked with my life in such a way that my SO and I still talk about when we went upstream color, and I was telling a stranger about primer just two days ago.
posted by vrakatar at 6:25 PM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

My all-time favorite film review is David and Margaret (an institution of a duo here in Australia, now retired from a decades long run) admitting they could not fairly review Upstream Colour because neither of them had any idea what was going on.
posted by solarion at 6:40 PM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

I liked Upstream Color, but it's quite a departure from Primer, which I loved. Primer is grade-A, pure, uncut science fiction, while Upstream Color...isn't. I would classify it as a contemporary fantasy. As with Primer, with Upstream Color the viewer is left to connect a lot of dots, but there was something missing, something less than satisfying with the story somehow. I dunno, I've forgotten a lot of my criticism and should watch it again anyway. I'll be glad to watch this--Shane Carruth is really talented and deserves a lot more success than he's gotten.
posted by zardoz at 7:52 PM on August 27, 2017

Shane Carruth and Charlie Kaufman are household names in an alternate universe I wish I lived in.
posted by davebush at 8:25 PM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

The way I look at Upstream Color was that instead of telling a story, it evoked feelings and moods.
posted by Gorgik at 9:33 PM on August 27, 2017

Upstream Color was a work of unalloyed genius. It was weird and touching and sinister and above all honest to itself and its intentions.
There's a lot to be said for this - it's like anti-cynicism. Even if the result is flawed or just plain weird (remember "the OA" ? Same same, weird but compelling) it isn't selling you soap or diapers or beer. That's a positive.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:57 AM on August 28, 2017 [3 favorites]

Someone placed the director's commentary for Primer on youtube.
posted by craniac at 5:33 AM on August 28, 2017 [2 favorites]