I just finished watching Primer online through the instant-view option at Netflix. I saw this film in a local theater about three years ago, when it played Portland briefly after making a splash at Sundance and winning some prizes. I was mightily impressed at the time and thought the movie would be worth seeing again someday.

It was. In fact, it looked and sounded better on my laptop than in the theater; it’s a movie with a very tight focus and is set almost entirely in close spaces, so it seems almost made for laptop viewing.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in successful first-time moviemaking (and some online interviews are available in which  writer/producer/director/cinematographer/composer/actor Shane Carruth talks about the process–oh, and his mom and dad did the catering). Also great for those interested in narrative complexity, time travel, or the morality of science. Don’t look for a tidy batch of exposition to explain the ending, but if you pay attention (as I was careful to do just now, seeing it for the second time) it comes together with a subtle but powerful wallop.