Primer (2004) 12 Feb 2012 - 25 Feb 2012

[Desmo]

Watched this today and have to say I was left a bit "meh". I understood what was going on throughout but there was no "woooaahhh" feeling I like to get at the end of films like this. On occasion I like a clever film that makes you think more than the average action movie but I love it when the ending arrives and I've not seen it coming, a real good twist but this left me feeling a bit blank. I liked the way the characters interacted with each other though, seemed far more lifelike than other films with the dialogue flowing backwards and forwards quickly like a normal conversation.

Of course, I may not have got the point at all

[Garp]

Originally Posted by Desmo

Of course, I may not have got the point at all

Yet to watch it again (should be here mid-week for me), but off the top of my head:

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Did you notice the fridge? Starts off brand new at the start of the film after the old one suddenly stopped working. Yet the next time they're in the house it's an old fridge and no reference to either new or old or functional state is made, so presumably it's the same old fridge they've always had, and later on supplies a key part for the machine.
The more you dive into the film, the more things like these you'll notice. My conclusion at the end of the film (2nd time through, admittedly) was that we have absolutely no clue when the time-travel story actually started or which thread of it we were getting to see. Clearly for there to be rodents in the loft there is at least one time traveler outside our frame of reference

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[Pumpkinstew]

My initial thoughts are that as a piece of cinema, even a piece of independent cinema made on a shoe string, it's really nothing special. As an excercise in mental agility, a sort of movie Sudoku, it's an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a fiendishly clever puzzle to unravel. If you're that way inclined of course.
Anyone sitting down without prior warning might justifiably want to know why they've been subjected to a Einsteinian thought experiment as a form of entertainment

Spoiler Alert! - Highlight below to read!

Problem. For the guys to move between Gate A and Gate B the machine has to exist in both places but towards the end of the film it's suggested that they travel further back than the machines creation (and in fact covertly assist in it's invention?)

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[Garp]

Originally Posted by Pumpkinstew

Spoiler Alert! - Highlight below to read!

Problem. For the guys to move between Gate A and Gate B the machine has to exist in both places but towards the end of the film it's suggested that they travel further back than the machines creation (and in fact covertly assist in it's invention?)

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.. or are we even following the main story?

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[Pumpkinstew]

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They would still need a machine to exist prior to it's earliest creation no matter how many loops within loops there might be

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[Desmo]

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I DON'T THINK I HAVE ANY CLUE WHAT WAS ACTUALLY GOING ON

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** HUGE SPOILERS ** There's a good writeup and a few theories and thoughts on Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_%28film%29 ** HUGE SPOILERS **

[Dymetrie]

Not a bad film, I think I understood it

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Mrs Dym just said that we need a time machine to either win the lottery, or to go and punch a dinosaur. Not a cute one, either, one of the hard ones!

In regards to the film. I couldn't quite get the link between them trying to build something (an unspecified something, at that!) and inventing a time machine. Surely that's something you have to intend to build? Yes/No?

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