Shane Carruth's low-budget sci-fi films Primer and Upstream Color rely on complex narratives and minimal special effects rather than CGI, yet have achieved cult status. Darren Aronofsky's Pi also uses minimal effects through its story of a paranoid mathematician obsessed with finding a secret numeric code. Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 film Alphaville envisions a future where emotions are outlawed through its dystopian world-building and references rather than effects. These films fascinate audiences through their stories and styles rather than solely relying on visual effects.

1. 126 | BW | BUSINESSWORLD | 23February2015 23February2015 | BW | BUSINESSWORLD | 127
AFTERHOURS ENTERTAINMENT
SCI-FI
SANSSFXMost science fiction films rely on
computer generated imagery to
dazzle audiences. A few that have
bucked the trend remain memorable
By Lena Saha
adecadeapartandminus
anyHollywoodstudio
backing.Despitehisrela-
tiveobscurity,Carruth’s
debut,Primer(2004),
hasacquiredcultstatus,
andhissecond,Upstream
Color(2013),isuniquelyin-
triguing.Bothfilmsareob-
sessivelydissectedonline,
atalevelrivallingCGI-
stunnerslikeChristopher
Nolan’sInception(2010).
Carruthwieldsimmense
controloverhisfilms—he
lastingimpressiononme.
DoesthenameShane
Carruthringabell?Maybe
not.Afterall,the42-year-
oldformerflightsimula-
tionsoftwaredeveloper
hasmadeonlytwofilms­—
bothlow-budget—nearly
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK:
(Above) A scene from
Upstream Color and (left) the
poster of Alphaville
C
INEMAAND
specialeffects
—thetwohave
becomelike
conjoinedtwins.
It’snotacomplaint:We
lovetobeseduced,tricked,
spellboundbytechnical
wizardrythatmakesthe
unimaginable,orperhaps
thepurelyimaginable,
seemreal;thehumanly
impossible,possible;or,to
betransportedtospace.
Howelsewouldthedream
worldshavecomealivein
Inceptionorwewouldhave
isthedirector,producer,
writer,cinematographer,
editor,musiccomposer,ac-
toranddistributor—and
characteristicallyshuns
plotsimplification.
Theperfectteaserforthe
braintwisterthatisPrimer
isthisdialogue:“Man,are
youhungry?Ihaven’teaten
sincelaterthisafternoon.”
Twoengineerfriendsin
suburbanUS,Aaron(Car-
ruth)andAbe,grapple
withtheimplicationsof
theiraccidentalinvention:
amachinethatenables
backwardtimetravel.
Soon,multipledoubles
ofthetwotimetravellers
emerge,creatingoverlap-
pingtimelinesandsitua-
tionsbeyondtherealmof
theirforesightandcontrol.
Carrutheschewsspecial
effectsforcomplextechni-
caldialogues,non-linear
beenwowedbyGravity?
Onecanplayanendless
gameofping-pongwiththe
science-fiction,superhero
andfantasyfilmsthaten-
chantandthrillusthanks
tocomputergenerated
imagery(CGI)andspecial
effects.Butthereremaina
fewgems,whosemainstay
isnotCGIrazzmatazz,yet
theyfascinateuscom-
pletely.Acaveat:Iamnot
attemptingtodiscussthe
entireanthologyof ‘sci-fi
filmswithoutspecialef-
fects’;onlyafewthathada
THE 2015
SCI-FI
ROSTER
A host of big ticket,
CGI-heavy films are
lined up for this year
Tomorrowland
A mysterious object allows
the user to travel to anoth-
er reality instantly. George
Clooney headlines this
Disney film directed by
Brad Bird.
HungerGames:
MockingjayPartII
The finale to the Hunger Games
film franchise will see Jennifer
Lawrence reprise her role as
Katniss Everdeen. Regular cast
members will be back to pro-
vide support to Katniss as she
tries to topple the Capitol.
TerminatorGenisys
Arnold Schwarzenegger makes
a comeback as T-800. The
trailer suggests a crazy time-
travel plot. Schwarzenegger
will have Jason Clarke and
Emilia Clarke for company. Alan
Taylor takes over the reins of
the film.
JurassicWorld
The fourth instalment in the Jurassic
Park franchise comes 14 years after
the release of Jurassic Park III. The
story is set 22 years after the events
of the first film. Chris Pratt, who
made quite an impact in the irrever-
ent Guardians of the Galaxy, stars
with Bryce Dallas Howard and an
ensemble cast.
MadMax:FuryRoad
TomHardystepsintotheeponymous
rolemadefamousbyMelGibson,inthe
fourthinstalmentoftheMadMaxfran-
chisedirectedbyGeorgeMiller.Charlize
Theronstarsasthemysterious
ImperatorFuriosa;NicholasHoultditch-
eshisX-Mensuittoplaybadasswarrior
Nux.Getsetforanepicdesertbattlein
apost-apocalypticworld.
JupiterAscending
Mila Kunis is a lowly earthbound janitor, who
realises that her destiny has galactic signifi-
cance. Channing Tatum is a genetically engi-
neered hunter. Eddie Redmayne, who is hot
property after his brilliant turn as Stephen
Hawking in The Theory of Everything, stars as
the villain Balem Abrasax. The Wachowski sib-
lings would be hoping to regain their Matrix
glory days with this one.
StarWars:TheForceAwakens
J.J.AbramstakesovertheStarWars
mantlefromGeorgeLucas.Harrison
Ford,CarrieFischerandMarkHamill
reprisetheirrolesfromtheprevious
StarWarsfilmswithnewentrants
AndySerkis,OscarIsaac,Adam
Driver,DomhallGleeson,Lupita
Nyong’o,MaxVonSydow,boarding
thespaceship.Thestoryisset30
yearsaftertheeventsofReturnofthe
Jedi(1983).

2. 128 | BW | BUSINESSWORLD | 23February2015 23February2015 | BW | BUSINESSWORLD | 129
AFTERHOURS ENTERTAINMENT
 lena.saha@businessworld.in
Formoreentertainmentstories,
visitwww.businessworld.in
narrativeandediting.The
firsttwistcomeswhenyou
areatyourslackest—it
wasprobablyintentional
andCarruthexploitsitto
thehiltsubsequently.
Thetimemachineitself
istheoppositeoffancyor
futuristic:aplain,greybox
withanelectronichum
(createdbyoverlaying
soundsofamechanical
grinderandacarengine,
insteadofusingprocessed
digitaleffects)thatisas-
sembledinagarage.
Filmedindrabin-
dustrialparksandother
Pigs,parasiticworms,
white-turned-blueorchids,
paperrings,Walden,
recordingsofnaturaland
infrasonicsounds—trust
Carruthtoweavesucha
diversebunchtogetherin
UpstreamColor,asci-fi
operathatisaspuzzlingas
itispeerless.
Twostrangers—a
mannamedJeff(Car-
ruthagain!)andawoman
calledKris—aremysteri-
ouslydrawntoeachother
aftertheyundergosimilar,
bizarreandtraumatic
experiences,eachunaware
oftheother’s.Theirexperi-
encesresultfrombeing
forcedtoingestaworm
carryingaparasitethat
hasathree-stagelife-cycle
inwhichitpassesfrom
humanstopigstoorchids.
Anarcoticsproducer
(simplycalledtheThiefin
themovie’scredits)and
apigfarmerandsonic
harvester,(theSampler)
holdthekeytoKris’and
Jeff’swreckedlives,memo-
riesandbehaviours,allof
whichinexplicablydiffuse
intoeachother’sasthetwo
becomemoreinvolved.
WhilePrimerwas
verbose,UpstreamColor
largelydispenseswith
dialogues,relyingon
mesmerisingvisuals,
distinctivesoundsand
transcendentaloriginal
musictofurtherthenar-
rative.Specialeffectsare
givenamissagain.Carruth
saidinaninterviewthata
sceneshowingmicroscopic
bluespheresfusinginto
onesphereandanunder-
watertime-lapsesequence
wereactuallyshot.Forthe
scenewhereawormcrawls
underKris’skin,make-up
techniquesdidthetrick.
Watchingthisfilmisa
stimulatingandimmersive
experience.
DarrenAronofskyisbest
knownforhiscritically
acclaimedpsychological
horrorflickBlackSwan,in
whichNataliePortman’s
ballerina,Nina,becomes
delusionalwhiletryingto
achieveperfection.Para-
noiaandthedarkrecesses
ofthemindarerecurring
themesinAronofsky’s
workfromthetimeofhis
directorialdebutPi(1998).
ThefilmwonhimtheBest
DirectorawardatSun-
dance.
MaxCohenisareclusive
numbertheoristandPi’s
unreliablenarrator.He
believestothepointofob-
sessionthateverythingin
naturecanbeunderstood
throughnumbers.He
periodicallysuffersfrom
debilitatingheadachesthat
drivehimtoparanoia,hal-
lucinationandleavehim
bleedingfromthenose.
Shotingrainyblackand
white,Piisterrifyingand
thrilling.Razorsharpedit-
ing,agilecameraworkand
abackgroundscorethat
definestrippyandracing-
against-time,impartthe
filmitsmaniczing.
AlthoughPidoes
employsomespecialef-
fects,awhackyplotthat
marriesWallStreetwith
theJewishTorahisits
highlight.Inthemixisalso
acomputercalledEuclid,
whoseconscienceisawak-
enedjustbeforeitcrashes
whileprintinga216-digit
number.WallStreetsharks
believethisnumbercan
predictstockprices;a
groupofHasidicJewsare
convinceditrepresents
the“unspeakablename
ofGod”thatwouldbring
aboutthemessianicage.
Max,whoisonapersonal
searchforthenumber,is
fanaticallypursuedbythe
twogroups.
InFrench,NewWave
auteurJean-LucGodard’s
blackandwhitemaster-
pieceAlphaville:AStrange
AdventureofLemmy
Caution(1965),thetitular
Americanprivateeye
arrivesonanassignment
inthespacecity-stateof
Alphaville,andfindsthat
itsinhabitantsarebeing
madetosupplanttheir
emotionswithlogicand
sciencebythecomputer
Alpha60,controlledbythe
city’styrannicalarchitect,
ProfessorvonBraun.
Peoplewhobehave“il-
logically”areexecutedina
swimmingpoolor“encour-
aged”tocommitsuicide.
Thepresenthasnopastor
futureandmorewordsare
bannedeveryday.
Consideringthattechno-
logicaladvancementsare
makingusmoreefficient,
accurateandpractical—
basicallyeliminatingfail-
ure—Alphaville’sappeal
andrelevanceonlygrow
withtime.
Godarddidn’tneedspe-
cialeffects.Parissuburbs
atnight,vacantindoors,
flashingneonsigns,skewed
cameraangles,araspy
Alpha60(intonedbyan
actorwhospokethrougha
mechanicalvoiceboxashe
hadlosthislarynx),num-
berstattooedonthefaces
ofresidents—thesewere
aptpropsforGodardtore-
aliseAlphaville’sdystopia.
Hehasalotoffunmak-
ingpop-culturalandother
references—DickTracy,
HenryDickson,Flash
Gordon, SSetal.Thefilm’s
shiftsintoneareremark-
able—fromsatiretonoir
toromanticismtosur-
realism.ItwontheGolden
BearattheBerlinFilm
Festival.Youshouldnot
missit.
non-picturesquelocations,
onabudgetofonly$7,000,
Primerishome-grown
sci-fiatitstrippiestand
uncompromisingbest.I
liketothinkthatCarruth
cheekilyassertsPrimer’s
superiorityoversillySFX-
ladenfilmsinthefollowing
dialogues:
Aaron:Youknowthat
story,abouthowNasa
spentmillionsofdollars
developingthispenthat
writesinZeroG?
Abe:Yeah.
Aaron:Youknowhow
theRussianssolvedthe
problem?
Abe:Yeah,theyuseda
pencil.
Primerwonthetopprize
atSundanceFilmFestival.
Youaresuretodiscover
somethingdifferentwith
eachsubsequentviewing.
HOTLY ANTICIPATED: Oscar
Isaac in a scene from Star
Wars: The Force Awakens,
due for release in December
MAD GENIUS: Sean Gulletteas mathematician MaxCohen in a scene fromDarren Aronofsky's Pi