Movie - Primer

Not for the faint of heart, or mind. Possibly. This might be the most amazing low budget time travel movie ever made, or they might have fooled a bunch of people into thinking they were watching a great movie that was nothing more than a load of dreck.

Primer is the movie, and people either love or hate the movie. Rarely a middle ground, this movie polarizes people as it does the characters within. The premise is simple - a couple of young, aspiring computer geeks accidentally discover the means of moving through time. Not the old fashioned Back to the Future or Dr. Who sort of time travel, but a more subtle form that takes as much time to travel through as one wants to travel through.

Lost yet? It gets worse.

Basically, the machine that is built creates a field within that oscillates in time. So if you turn on the machine, put something in it, the time goes back and forth within the particular timeframe the machine is turned on. The item inside goes through time many more times than it is actually in the box - so if the machine is on for 5 days, approximately 5 years will pass within.

Lost yet? It gets worse.

So far, the protagonists (Shane Carruth as Aaron, David Sullivan as Abe) only tested it on inanimate objects. But eventually, they (of course) test it on themselves. And discover that a sentient being in the time oscillation can choose to get out of the machine at one end or the other. So, turn the machine on at 6:00 AM. Wait until 6:00 PM. Get in the machine. Wait for twelve hours in the cramped little box. Get out, and you are now back at 6:00 AM.

Lost yet? Most people are.

But, if you can accept this premise, what unfolds is a fantastic exploration of some of the ethical and moral implications of time travel, as well as some of the incongruities and paradoxes that might ensue.

Primer was written, directed, produced, edited, casted, acted in, and had the music composed all by Shane Carruth. The total budget for the film was $7,000.00 (yes, seven thousand). As a fluff time travel entertainment piece, this movie falls quite flat on it's face. As a thought provoking, insightful film that is character and philosophically driven, Primer is more than worth the 77 minutes on screen. Of course, that 77 minutes (if you enjoy it at all) will rapidly turn into 154 minutes, and then 231. I myself am at 616 minutes and counting.

Exodio's Rating: 5 Stars