Primer

This one is a puzzler about two geeks making a time machine in their garage and causing all sorts of havoc for themselves. The story is told in a twisting fashion as the geeks create doubles of themselves through time travel and must find ways to avoid their paths and not jeopardize their world with paradoxes (although they do spy on their double every once in a while as a means of freaking themselves out). Director Shane Carruth, who also acts in the film, brought the movie in at a miniscule budget, and that much is obvious. The movie has a washed-out tone, with a complicated and sometimes oft-putting narrative that does little to enlighten us on what is actually going on. Still, all things considered, it’s a decent achievement that will inspire more than a few to revisit and unwind the twists and turns. I especially liked how the film addressed the notion that time travel can be a dangerous for the psyche, a notion far away from the fun of Back to the Future. This knocked them dead at the Sundance Film Festival.