Dancing Geek

If you haven’t heard of it, Primer is an independent film from 2004 about time travel.  It’s science fiction, but there’s no flashing lights, special effects, smoke or aliens.  Instead, this film is about the people in it and their relationships, with time travel.

Purposefully obscure, from technical jargon to non-linear plot, it’s a feeding ground for geeks and nerds to compete over who has mastered full understanding of the film.  But don’t worry, if you’re just interested in good film then still check it out, you don’t need to understand all the details to get the drama, and indeed the vague feeling of WTF? the film creates is part of the intention of the director/writer/actor/composer/pretty much everything else guy, Shane Carruth.

Of course, if you do decide you want to pick it apart, there’s plenty of help – including infographics which are one of my favourite things.  An alternative version, which first got the film on my radar, is from one of my favourite webcomics, XKCD.

Another reason to like this film is the fact that it’s free.  You can watch it right now on Google video.  It lasts an hour and a quarter, will make you use your brain, and whilst it isn’t a barrel of laughs type of a film, it’s a more grounded take on how discoveries are made, exploited and then the consequences that follow.  Indeed, trying to work out what’s right or wrong in this context quickly becomes confusing, a worthwhile experience for anyone I think.

Go watch it, don’t worry about the plot too much, and enjoy the experience of being uncertain.