5
Beautiful
Upstream Color was a gorgeous look into how we find our identity once everything is stripped away. This is a movie that can be viewed over and over again and you still find something new about it. Beautifully done, well executed, will see again.
5
Excellent -- but you've got to actively engage by PiercedToTheHeart
Upstream Color is excellent in both its filmcraft and its exploration of life. That said, it is an ethereal sort of film that will not hand you answers on a silver platter. It raises questions through an emotional and visceral level of engagement, intentionally keeping you off-balance. This is great -- it keeps you from assuming simple answers to the questions it raises and makes it a question-rich film that can take you deeper into the goodness of life -- but only if you actively engage with the film on its own terms. I venture to say that few viewers will be on the film's wavelength going in, and if you try to force-fit the film into what you want it to be, you'll miss out greatly. Give a bit of grace to the film -- assume that it all fits together and ask questions aimed to figure out how to put the pieces together.
Don't go if you want simple entertainment -- this ain't no Hollywood pabulum. Go with others that will be actively engaged and talk lots about it after.