## [RT][DC] Primer (movie)

* Author: u/Magodo  *Ankh-Morpork City Watch**
* URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/2g7kv9/rtdc_primer_movie/
* Score: 11

* Created: 2014-09-12T16:01:26

### Post:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/

An underrated movie about time travel. Not going to say any more about this but it's on Netflix.

Also, I apologize if movies aren't allowed in this subreddit. Couldn't find anything about it in the sidebar.

### Comments:

> **u/alexanderwales** [+5]  *Time flies like an arrow* (23 minutes later)
> 
> Sam Hughes (/u/sam512, author of *Ra* and *Fine Structure*) has written a number of things about *Primer*; [Primer Explained](http://qntm.org/primer), [Fan Commentary](http://qntm.org/commentary), [Time Travel in Primer Explained](http://qntm.org/coffin).
> 
> I love this movie. I rented it when it came out on DVD, mostly on a whim since I knew nothing going in. After I was done, I immediately had to watch it again, in part because I felt like I only understood half of it. *Primer* is one of the best "a plot that the viewer solves" movies of all time.
> 
> [](#s "The biggest thing that bothers me is when Granger and Aaron can't interact with each other without falling unconscious.")
> 
> This calls into question what sort of model of time travel is actually being used in the movie. At first it seems like it's the static universe (used in HPMOR, *The Time Traveler's Wife*, *Terminator*, and many others), then it seems like it's the branching timelines model (used in *Terminator 2*, the new *Star Trek*, and many others), but that incident sort of calls that into question.
> 
> Anyone seeking more discussion on this film in this subreddit can look [here](http://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/2652a4/hsffilm_primer/).

> **u/AmeteurOpinions** [+3]  *Finally, everyone was working together.* (an hour later)
> 
> Movies are allowed. I've only seen it once on Netflix, but I certainly enjoyed that watch. I'll get around to a second viewing someday (and third, and fourth....).
> 
> Honestly, the most impressive aspect of this film is not the plot but the budget. [It was completed for $7000, and with only five people](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_(film). Seven thousand! Five people! It's amazing that a timeless piece of cinema can be done like that.

>> **u/alexanderwales** [+5]  *Time flies like an arrow* (2 hours later)
>> 
>> $7,000 *and* he used film stock instead of digital, which significantly increased the expense of the film (probably the right choice given the look he achieved). Shane Carruth has said that he's sort of miffed that people talk about the budget so much, in the sense that he thinks it crowds out discussion of the actual film, but pretty much everything about the production is damned impressive.

> **u/Escapement** [+3]  *Ankh-Morpork City Watch* (3 hours later)
> 
> In the vein of 'good timetravel movies', I recently saw Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes) and enjoyed it a lot. It was no Primer, but it was more tightly plotted and very fun. I recommend not reading anything about it before seeing it, it'll probably be more fun that way. It has some nudity and so forth so is not suitable for all ages.

>> **u/Riddle-Tom_Riddle** [+1]  (5 hours later)
>> 
>> Seconded. I was recommended it on Netflix after watching Primer. Definitely worth the watch.
>> 
>> >I recommend not reading anything about it before seeing it
>> 
>> I'm trying to get a friend to watch Steins;Gate, using this strategy...
>> 
>> It's not very effective, which sucks, since I'm ~80% confident he'd really enjoy it. :/

>>> **u/TimTravel** [+2]  (a day later)
>>> 
>>> I liked the red-haired girl and I liked the main guy but I was either indifferent to or actively disliked every single other character, especially that teenager who talks like a four-year-old. If an actual four-year-old talks like a four-year-old it's cute, but when a teenager does it it's just creepy. What's with the fat hacker guy? Does he have any personality at all? If you're going to do a slow start the characters really have to be solid and they weren't.

>>>> **u/Riddle-Tom_Riddle** [+2]  (2 days later)
>>>> 
>>>> Going off memory, I'll try to hit all your points. The following comments might be inaccurate simply due to memory decay over time. SPOILERS HO!
>>>> 
>>>> >I liked the red-haired girl and I liked the main guy but I was either indifferent to or actively disliked every single other character, especially that teenager who talks like a four-year-old. If an actual four-year-old talks like a four-year-old it's cute, but when a teenager does it it's just creepy.
>>>> 
>>>> Mayuri(Mayushi?) has dependency issues from her parents(or grandparents, who were already raising her?)dieing when she was young. Probably thirteen at the oldest. Something happened when she was visiting their graves. Like, she was preparing to be taken away by her parents ghosts to be with them or something, and Okabe rushes to her, catches hold of her, and proclaims to the heavens that he, Hououin Kyoma, is taking Mayuri hostage from the heavens and she can't leave so long as he needs her for mad scientist experimentation and the like. Thus, Mayuri and Okabe fall into the roles of Mayushi and Hououin.
>>>> 
>>>> >What's with the fat hacker guy? Does he have any personality at all?
>>>> 
>>>> Daru? He's... eh.. Daru seems to just hang around Okabe because they're both misfits. Daru spends most of his time on the computer. The two most commonly noted things he does are hacking and playing.. um.. Love simulator/story games? He also apparently spends a bit of time on the *chan board they have, giving Christina(Damn, I can't remember her actual name for the life of me) the nickname of 'Channeler' when he finds she goes on them, by tricking her into completing the AYB meme.
>>>> 
>>>> He eventually finds a goal when the wandering warrior arrives, and it is implied that he improves as a person while trying to reach it.
>>>> 
>>>> >If you're going to do a slow start the characters really have to be solid and they weren't.
>>>> 
>>>> Mm. A valid point. As a time-travel story, a lot of the past was shown at the end as it was caused, wrapping it up in  neat-ish self-caused timeline. It (probably?) could've done with a bit of the characters' background to set them up.
>>>> 
>>>> For curiosity's sake, how far have you watched?

>>>>> **u/TimTravel** [+2]  (2 days later)
>>>>> 
>>>>> About 12 episodes. I gave up at 10, then tried again until 12 then gave up again. Thanks for the writeup anyway. I'm going by old memories also.

> **u/superliminaldude** [+3]  (an hour later)
> 
> That director's most recent movie *Upstream Color* is fantastic as well.  Not really rational per se, but a mind-blowing and beautifully shot film.

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