PRIMER (2004) - ILLUSTRATED EXPLANATION

[@Trystaticus]

"I'm going to assume you've already seen this film-" *which I have* "-and are reasonably familiar with the events that take place within the story." *well let's not get ahead of ourselves*

[@RED01SEA]

sooo i have a question , if abe 5 stayed and stop abe 0 and aeron 0 from time traveling how would abe 5 and aeron 2 and 6 still existe in the 1st place ? , like its the grandfather paradox all over again !! edit : i dont know exactly how aeron is spelled

[@RobinDale50]

I *thought* I was familiar with the events that take place within the story. Apparently, I missed a TON of what was really going on. Mind. Blown.

[@OfficialMageHD]

@@RED01SEA I'm not sure if I can explain it well enough, but it seems to work out fine in my opinion. It isn't as strong of a loop as it might seem. That being that they essentially duplicate, but then "disappear" as they're merged back into the path later. Early on we see this best when they really stick to going to the hotel all day, then going back in time and gaming the stocks while their doubles are at the hotel, and when they go back in time we see it as a bit of a loop. It isn't really the kind of time travel where you can track a persons timeline along a single unbroken string with a bunch of loops in it when they circle back, which would get tangled up if you mess with an earlier loop. In Primer it's more like you add another string when you time travel. It's you, but a different you. When the plan is going smoothly, it can easily begin to look like a single string just looping around, but it's more like one of the strings just connects two others, you'd only be able to really tell if you label it in some way. I don't know if that made any sense. To really boil it down as best I can, you aren't dealing with *you* in this case, you're dealing with *another* you.

[@maxkho00]

@@RED01SEA No paradox here. Each time someone time-travels, a new timeline is created. This means that there exists a timeline where only one Abe (Abe 0) exists, and there also exists a timeline where both Abe 0 and Abe 5 exist. Abe 5 originally came from the former of these timelines, and therefore is not causally connected to Abe 0 from the latter timeline in any way.

[@white6505]

i didn't want to watch 30 minute explanations to understand a movie. this is nuts

[@IntelligentMrToad]

Now I understand why I didn't understand the film. I still don't understand the film, but I understand why I don't understand it.

[@sarwerimam1012]

😀😀nice reply bro....

[@LeoBronte1977]

Same here

[@psychman3028]

I understand it so well that I understand that I don't want to understand it, so I'm not going to watch the movie and try and understand it. Understand?

[@diablochorizero6586]

That’s mind fuck have to watch this movie stone

[@electroplaque]

I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.

[@kfoster1935]

I feel like watching the film is just getting to know the background knowledge and watching this youtube video is actually watching the film

[@ottis1411]

Agreed

[@subhradeepsonowal6241]

Agreed

[@noedie4973]

lmao true, only completed the movie second time because this video mentioned "assuming you're familiar with the scenes"

[@amorarubus333]

Yes

[@nellurban7826]

whoa.

[@vilentman111]

I also love the line "I haven't eaten until later this afternoon"

[@raskr8137]

I can't believe I missed that on my first watch

[@Annie-zd7mx]

Yeah, that's my favourite line from the film. "I haven't eaten since later this afternoon." I chuckle every time I see that.

[@TheShmekler]

I missed that on my first watch as well. Love that line.

[@trauki6501]

what does it mean

[@powerfusev2]

@@trauki6501 let’s say the first time they lived that day he ate at 5pm, then they went back in time so now they’re living through the same day at 3pm. It’s been ~16 hours for his body since he last ate, but he technically hasn’t eaten since later that day I’m not sure if this is helpful or not lol

[@darthkek1953]

It's a hell of a thing when I've seen a film six times and I still get spoilers from KZbin.

[@Peanutdenver]

They did, but they title lead the press to believe it was comedy. During an interview the "Abe" and "Aaron" creators tried to explain this to Entertainment Tonight while in their studio. This failed and "Abe" left angry speeding away in his car from said interview which was involved in an accident and killed him. So now "Aaron" chose to go back in time and change the title which eliminated any confusion about the films genre. The interview with Entertainment Tonight goes well and we've all seen the excellent final product where two friends rob Fort Knox to steal all of it's gold with Rachael and Platter.

[@chiraglunagaria4597]

🤣🤣🤣

[@IntegralKing]

Me too, but I'm still as ignorant as Aaron 1

[@julcaos]

@@Peanutdenver holy shit... that escalated quickly!

[@LuisSuarez-yv8zn]

LMFAO

[@PrasadIndi]

This movie makes all other time travel movie writers go back to Monday morning 5AM and start over again.

[@ivxwiv6692]

lmaooooo

[@cutefirefly9976]

Watch “Dark” it’s much better than this movie

[@PrasadIndi]

@@cutefirefly9976 Yup, waiting for season 3 now.

[@youngpl]

@@cutefirefly9976 But that is not a time travel movie is it? More about evil spirits and such?

[@sanskargupta7615]

@@cutefirefly9976well dark isn't as confusing as primer tbh

[@macuse2008]

Wow, she needs an award for breaking this down.

[@LuisSierra42]

big brane

[@genesis_888]

I mean for real.,. Unbelievable... can i say i feel relief hahaha i hated that i couldnt fig this out!!!

[@CogitoErgoSum67]

For real

[@nellateea3238]

garbage

[@EcoKiwiMagazine]

I think that kind of an award is usually called a PhD.

[@aldousorwell3807]

"Everybody has a plan, until they try to punch Platt in the face." -Tike Myson

[@UrbanShaolin-v2l]

excellent

[@szeltovivarsydroxan9944]

*in the faith

[@derrekgillespie413]

Underrated comment

[@wren4077]

Two guys invent time travel and their immediate reactions are to play the stock market and punch a guy in the face. Not bad.

[@secondwaveprod]

The most white guy thing ever.

[@Freakbob28]

@@secondwaveprod The most guy thing ever

[@PentameronSV]

@@Freakbob28 The most thing ever

[@boshugo]

@@PentameronSV The most ever

[@R0XyM0h]

@@boshugo the ever

[@ViralKiller]

This video shows the incredible power of animation for explaining things

[@unfortunatebeam]

The animation is obnoxious. All of them having square heads is just stupid.

[@swf4841]

What a weird criticism.

[@unfortunatebeam]

What a weird criticism of a criticism.

[@jeffwalker6815]

The animation is exactly what it needs to be to express the information needed. This isn't Tex Avery.

[@FortHYPEZONE]

unfortunatebeam weird flex but ok

[@karnevalsjeck1984]

I understood this movie perfectly at the first time watching it. Then i watched this video and realized i didn't understand anything at all.

[@donlodtonku]

Same here lol

[@JuanGomez-hc5fm]

I watch like the first 30 minutes I was already lost haha

[@EyeForKnowledge.]

I've seen it no less than 20 times, and with the explanation, I still have a hard time following. She doesn't address what they did with Thomas Granger. He would of had to disappear as well. And since he was a vegetable, they would have to had killed him. And Aaron 2 just leaves? I assume that's implied because there was no mention of it in the movie. And Aaron 0 would have a lot of questions. Primarily why was he locked in the attic for one. Secondly, why his wife hadn't missed him the past day. And at the end of the day, Aaron and Abe 0 will still find out what they have and create the boxes and repeat this all over again. Abe 5 can't do anything about it but watch.

[@aguilacahc000]

not just that, but on my second watching today, i noticed that Abe was practicing saying the name 'Brad' when Aaron 0 first came to his house with the roommate Brad. Meaning, I guess, that Abe had even gone further back in time than Aaron 0. idk this movie is like doctorate level time travel lol

[@acash2375]

lmao

[@surindersingh724]

Great video. Only thing I would point out (and it’s confirmed by Shane Carruth’s director’s commentary) is that Aaron 1 doesn’t go back via Abe 0’s failsafe machine to perfect the party plan. He goes back because HE wants to be the one in control and have the ability to reset everything. The scene where Aaron 0 tells Abe 1 to not do anything that affects him is key to understanding Aaron’s mindset. He doesn’t like not being in control. It’s also the reason he wants to be his “hero moment” at the party to be perfect. He is a control freak.

[@JenomKolemjdouci]

Right?! That is why I think he took the phone with him on purpose knowing that his wife would be calling (they had a lunch planned, of course she had to call). I don't know what he gained by that yet but it seems too implausible that he'd make the same mistake twice.

[@vichi1960]

Engineers...

[@aceman0000099]

​@@JenomKolemjdouci he may not have done it twice, that might have been the first time "stealing his own phone call". But Aaron 6 or whatever would have done it for the purpose of showing Abe that you can change the past, which is important for Abe to know.

[@michaelkenwell9146]

EXACTLY! Aaron is far more arrogant and self-centred than Abe who is actually genuinely concerned about the repercussions of them time-travelling. With Aaron I always found he was far more cavalier about using the box and really didn't care as long as he personally wasn't in any mortal peril.

[@aprilized]

interesting seeing as Carruth was accused of horrible controlling of his partner until she was basically a prisoner

[@DoubleThinkTwice]

This movie is just amazing. I wish they had had like 5000$ more for audio equipment and editing, but it's still a testament to how much can be done with an amazing script.

[@Yokeshmalkan]

Yeah.. a brilliant script but feels like watching a short film

[@Albtraum_TDDC]

@@Yokeshmalkan even better. That means it doesn't have boring stuff to pad the running time. Padding is a moment in a story which could have easily been removed from the plot without affecting the story significantly. Most works have to employ some level of this to get to the desired length/running time, but are usually either subtle about it or manage to make the padding itself enjoyable.

[@PeterParker-vq2cz]

@@Yokeshmalkan im actually tired of explosions and car chases....maybe im getting too old, but im loving great dialogue movies way more than big lights and loud noises.

[@nrishiee5231]

@@Yokeshmalkan i believe this movie was shot on an iphone because of a lack of budget. so that association is very appropriate.

[@dufkers]

@@nrishiee5231 woah! You mean they sent an iPhone years back in time so they could use it for this movie?! Primer: 2004. First iPhone: 2007.

[@Doctor-nk8eu]

"His audience would return again and again to understand it" so he's making us experience the movie over and over again, essentially time traveling. That magnificent bastard

[@johnba291972]

and getting everybody to pay 4 times to watch his movie, that's the genius part of it.

[@poego6045]

I'm not a fan though of people excusing some mistakes and mediocre characterization as "returning again and again to understand it". To me, the most confusing part that doesn't change is how the characters don't feel consistent.

[@Prezmir]

L G I agree. It’s a good story that is explained poorly by the film. Even with the voice overs it makes no sense to most first time viewers. It’s not clever story telling as a lot of these comments are suggesting; it’s just lazy.

[@jesusluvincognito3630]

@@Prezmir shut up you don't even know what tf you're talking about.

[@Prezmir]

@@jesusluvincognito3630 You sound really upset. But the fact that this video has so many views and the film has a reputation of being hard to follow kinda supports what I said. Don't cry about my opinion

[@Meanie010]

This video analysis might seem long at 23 minutes, but if you set a box running before you start the video, you can come back to the beginning so you can like and subscribe before even seeing how good the analysis is.

[@LondonCityGirl]

This comment made me smile :)

[@aleksakocijasevic6613]

Already did that. :D

[@Auzzie015]

Wouldn't you have already seen it as you 1? The You 0 doesn't like and subscribe to it until after 0 becomes 1.

[@szeltovivarsydroxan9944]

I did that later this afternoon.

[@PhantomOfManyTopics]

@@LondonCityGirl , travel time to Feb 1st 2022, find me walking from Leicester Square to Picadilly Circus between 2200 and 2245, stop me from leaving London the next day, convince me to marry you... kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZm3dWZvhNaZfNE

[@stevegoodson9022]

I have to admire the huge concrete balls Carruth must have needed to release a film so convoluted that almost no-one would understand the whole thing even after multiple viewings. And the fact that it does make sense once enough people have picked apart every scene and charted out the various timelines and duplicate characters is incredibly impressive. Even after watching this and various other exhaustive analyses I'm still not sure of the full implications of that ending. You could send an army back in that huge box, or thousands of smaller boxes. Makes Skynet and the aliens in Edge of Tomorrow look like amateurs. Edited to say that this is an amazing explanation and animation, and got a subscription out of me.

[@ThePaulP]

This is the comment I was searching for, my guy. The implications of Aaron's actions and future actions are impossible to understand, so long as his mind doesn't turn to mush along the way of his time-traveling. The dude will literally, eventually be able to control almost every aspect of society to some degree. Primer explains how one smart control freak can become a tyrannical overlord via time-travel, in the most geekazoid way.

[@Tennethums1]

Someone needs to edit the entire film to have those numbers superimposed on the characters/copies like you did in this video. That would be sweet.

[@todayweplay8355]

Oh my god, that's such a good idea! I hope she sees you're comment and does it!

[@FusionDeveloper]

An overlay ONLY file would be 100% legal and without any restrictions, but would require us to sync it. Then we could record that as our own personal copy to not be distributed. This is the same type of concept of with Mystery Science Theater 3000 Riffs, where you can get commentary ONLY for newly released movies, without them violating copyright by distributing the material. The content this way, on it's own, is un-restricted. I wonder if something like Open Broadcast Software would work. I really don't have experience with overlays in videos, especially ones that would follow characters, but perhaps they could just be at the bottom of the screen, as simple numbers, since we don't deal with more than 1 double at a time.

[@richardsantanna5398]

That's a great idea

[@mikeyygriffin]

or maybe just add this video to the end of the movie and call it the extended cut

[@unsubme2157]

Holy shit i think you just poineered the way for normal people to understand what the fuck is happening. 10/8 id watch a superimposed version

[@goober_]

one of the clues not mentioned is their choice of tie changes to help indicate different versions

[@GalileoAV]

Holy shit, you're right. Love the movie and I've seen it a dozen times over the years, and I never noticed that before.

[@flobenmoro4431]

Holy sh.. Now I have to watch it again.

[@amy_grace]

I’ve been watching and rewatching this movie for 15 years and I never noticed their ties 🤯

[@roncalabro]

Yeah.i noticed their ties are particularly gay as hell

[@YogSoth]

Nice, never caught that in multiple viewings

[@SibiGoku]

Inception looks like an ad during this film

[@mayanksewlia5681]

Sibi Goku Very true!😂

[@suyashawasthi1]

Withholding information is not mindf**k. It's the laziest way of showing mystery. Letting it all out and still it f**ks your mind is really thought provoking and a better movie. That's why Inception is better. Still I enjoyed Primer.

[@jacobdavis9816]

It doesn't really withhold information, it just does not blatantly give it too you.

[@machoprotegido5607]

Inception is shit

[@Thebees21]

But inception has no mind fucking? Inception is a simple blockbuster action movie?

[@blaisetelfer8499]

The lines of dialog about the parabolic arch of the particles, swinging from point A to point B, and the even VS odd numbers, was a pretty ingenious way of helping the audience visualize it.

[@michaelnewton1754]

First time I watched Primer, I was way too high... Ended with me being mostly confused. Second time I watched it, I was sober. It helped me understand... that being high the first time probably didn't have a massive effect on my confusion.

[@Scorch428]

When theres 6 different protagonists, who do you even root for?? When one kills the other, is that good or bad?? It can lead to not really caring.

[@cyberpimp29]

Best comment winner

[@CartoonKidOLLY]

Lmao

[@bilabrin]

You do not have to be high to be confused by this movie.

[@LouisZephyr]

The exact same thing happened to me.

[@akashmahala8093]

absolute genious..not just the movie but also the girl who's explaining it

[@LondonCityGirl]

haha, cheers Akash :)

[@PatisauR]

will you be my wife?

[@kyoidanniz]

This moviе is nоw ааааvаilablе tо wаtсh hеееrе => twitter.com/f861ff33bd5bc4c37/status/795843281162670080 РRIMЕR 2004 ILLUSТRАТТТTЕD ЕЕEХРLАNAТION

[@CALVINAGUSTIN]

LondonCityGirl - Knowledge your voice sounds like a young boy

[@Arahansannihilation]

Absolute crap more like it.

[@RedLegBlazer]

I'm so glad he didn't dumb the script down. It's so good because it's almost too hard to keep track of and gives the feeling to the viewer that these guys are in the deep end, for sure.

[@MorinehtarTheBlue]

He made it so deliberately obtuse by cutting out key events that he turned it in to a puzzle. It locks out viewers so the ones who got dumbfounded and avoided it subsequently have a point. I'm sure figuring it all out might be rewarding but I don't really want to give it that much of my time.

[@DarrenOverby]

I enjoyed the movie but I would have enjoyed the Hollywood (dumbed down) version more. I think with some work, this movie could be as amazing as The Matrix or The Terminator series. I would have had no hope if it was not for this video from LondonCityGirl and watching the movie twice.

[@IamBHM]

It has a very nice tone correspondence. It's deeply confusing, but still feels comprehensible. This gives the audience the 'in over our heads' feeling that the protagonists are also suffering from.

[@wombat4191]

Just watched it another time after actually finding out what happens, thanks to this vid. The one funny thing about this film is that in the end, none of the time traveling ever happened. In the final timeline, some additional Abes and Aarons just emerge from the storage facility, but the original Abe and Aaron never manage to get their time machines working, because Abe 5 sabotages them, at least presumably. And I think that is why the whole film is actually just a phone call from Aaron 2 to Aaron 0. The whole story only exists in the memories of Aaron 2, Abe 5 and Aaron 6.

[@akmalrusydi2730]

you said that no time travelling ever happened with both of the double sabotaging their past-selves. But isn't that just a paradox where the time traveling has happened and never happened since they are Aaron 2 and Aaron 0. Damn time travel is just such a delicate genre

[@wombat4191]

@@akmalrusydi2730 yes, it's very much a paradox, especially as Abe already had managed to make the working backup time machine which lets Abe 5 sabotage them in the first place. But presumably, Abe never has a need to go into the backup machine because Abe 5 sabotages the other ones.

[@NumnutSify]

@@akmalrusydi2730 @Wombat The Time traveling is relative to the person. The paradox of time traveling occurs when you try to view it from a world perspective (in this film). If you shrink the perspective to the individual then time traveling both occurs and does not occur. At the end when Aaron 0 , Aaron 2, Aaron 6, Abe 0, and Abe 5 all exist at the same time, time traveling has occurred for Aaron 2, Aaron 6, and Abe 5. Time traveling has not occurred for Aaron 0 and Abe 0 and we presume it stays that way if Abe 5 is successful in his sabotage schemes. This means EVERYTHING that Aaron and Abe had gone through in the film presumably DOES NOT happen in this final timeline if Aaron 0 and Abe 0 do not time travel. So, for this film specifically, time traveling has and has not occurred at the same time. As for why their handwriting deteriorates, my own explanation has to do with sleep which is a huge theme in this movie that I'm surprised the video and other videos have not touched upon. Sleep is extremely important for the body to the point that if you don't sleep for an average of 5 days straight, your body will fail and you will die. But let's think about this scenario... what happens if you sleep while time is going backwards??? Our body has an extremely strict circadian rhythm which takes several days to change if needed to assuming you're changing from one pattern to another. But what happens if you simply break your original circadian rhythm and dont try to establish a new pattern? Imagine you sleep at 11pm and wake up at 6am, so that is a 7 hour sleep schedule. Now imagine earlier in the day you set up your return point for time traveling at 10am and decide to enter the box to time travel at 7pm. You try to induce sleep using Dramamine or any other OTC sleeping pills but physically your body knows that it needs to sleep in 4 hours. You emerge at 10am your return point. During your 9 hour travel period, your body was clocked in to go to sleep in 4 hours. So 5 hours of the remaining 9 hours is when your body should be sleeping. When you emerge at 10am you wake up 2 hours ahead of your normal sleep schedule which would've now been 12pm... Yeahhhhhhh this is gonna get messy. So let's say you force yourself to stay awake past the 12pm mark (which many of us can do, initially) and go through the cycle again. During the first time travel session when your body wanted to wake up at 12pm and then stay awake for another 17 hours (which would be 5 am next day when your body technically wants to sleep for 7 hours) you go back into the box at 7pm to force another sleep session. From here on out, any additional time traveling just completely destroys any previously established circadian rhythm without being able to establish a new one thus deteriorating your body to the point of organ failure. The bad handwriting is a sign of brain damage which is supported by the fact that blood was coming out of Aaron's ears. The fainting that Abe experienced is due to a sudden drop of low blood pressure which points to the possibility of the heart starting to fail. Other factors of severe sleep deprivation are poor decision making, lack of energy, mood changes, which both Abe and Aaron displayed. The true time paradox is the body being out of sync with the timeline. Every single "time travel" movie, content, and medium only shows THINGS traveling through time. A perfect time travel would be both the "thing" traveling back in time while simultaneously the "thing" regresses in time at the same amount of time that was traveled back. So if I travel back in time 3 hours ago then my body would also need to regress back in time 3 hours to what it was before just to solve the body time paradox.

[@deonjames1041]

@@wombat4191Wait…Aaron was the original time traveler wasn’t he? For this to work didn’t Aaron 0 find the invoice for the storage sheds then use one of the boxes some time prior to Monday 5am? Therefore Abe 1’s initial conversation to place with Aaron 1/2/3 etc?

[@wombat4191]

@@deonjames1041 You are asking about things that I can't remember anymore. Probably would need to watch it a couple of times again to understand what you mean :D

[@Dkibble101]

I have spent ten years and countless hours trying to understand and map out everything this movie had to offer, and I could never grasp it. This video has finally done it, and I cannot thank you enough.

[@LondonCityGirl]

What a great comment. Thanks for watching and I'm glad you found the video helpful 😀

[@GI_Jimbo]

Definitely some symbolism in their names. Aaron = A-A (A-end to A-end). Abe = A-B (A-end to B-end). Also Abe's last name is Terger - regret backwards.

[@1mrbremos]

holy crap!

[@british_sports_car]

Ned Cauphee shit on my mothers pissable flaps Ned, you genius xxx

[@Xandermorph]

Oh wow, that's pretty cool, actually! You're pretty sharp! :D Actually, when I first saw Primer, I distinctly remember briefly pondering why "Abe" was given that particular name - it's hardly a commonplace name to see in the real world, and in the context of being a name for a fictional character, I'm guessing the odds of a name like "Abe" being a purely arbitrary choice are rather high. :P

[@usmh]

So what is the significance of those two labels?

[@Dutchinvegas]

Don't make it more complicated than it already is!

[@magicchunag3994]

This video should win an Oscar

[@LondonCityGirl]

Lol - wow, that's high praise indeed ;)

[@slostboyz420]

Absofrigginlutely!!

[@thedeparture7569]

LondonCityGirl: can you repeat what you just said on another video? I am theDeparture 4 trying to save the space time continuum from Departure 2 and Departure 0. I need you, LondonCityGirl 25 to stop LondonCity 69 from marrying Departure 307. 307 is a loser. Marry me, departure ...shit, I don't remember and my head hurts. never mind miss.

[@nickdrozd]

莊博翔

[@supermonkey321]

I think there are most likely timelines that occurred before the film that we never got to see. Whatever happens in those unseen timelines leads to Mr. Granger using the machine too many times and scrambling his brain. I also think it's possible that the Aaron we see at the end building the giant box is not any version of Aaron we've seen before, but actually one of the earlier Aarons from a timeline before the film started. I think there may be more than just 3 Aarons existing at once by the end.

[@hughjanus3287]

So if I get drugged kidnapped and stuffed in an attic by someone who looks just like me ill know what's goin on.

[@rockmyworldmusic]

Better yet, if I kick his (my) ass, I will know he is more invested in the whole plan and comes with a ton of fore knowledge. So I (me prime) will leave and let him (me) finish the job.

[@peace4045]

Lol

[@Gagieboy]

Yeah, but you didn't invent a time traveling box, so I think you're sorta safe from yourself. 🤣

[@LondonCityGirl]

CORRECTION: The video states that the film's director is Steve Carruth when in fact it is SHANE Carruth - my mistake during the recording of the voiceover, apologies :)

[@jrjubach]

lol didn't even notice. this video is extremely helpful.

[@rars0n]

Video was made in 2015 and it took you until 1 week ago to figure that out?

[@LondonCityGirl]

No it didn't - I included an annotation shortly after the video was published but YT hasn't supported annotations for a while. The correction was also included in the description but plenty of people don't open up the description so even though I also included it as a comment I thought a top comment might help. That answer your question?

[@rars0n]

@@LondonCityGirl Thanks for the clarification. BTW I always read the description (except I admit this time I didn't... hey, we all make mistakes, right?). Edit: Also, it was a great video, I really enjoyed it! Sorry for not saying so sooner!

[@rakkatytam]

Maybe it was originally Steve at first but then someone started fucking with time...

[@BearWindAppleyard]

I can't imagine how Shane Carruth can hold a script like that in his head, that guy is smart on a whole other level.

[@LondonCityGirl]

+BearWindAppleyard I agree; his achievement is awe inspiring imo. This film stands head and shoulders above so many others in the same genre made by big studios with big name directors. This is the pinnacle of independent film making!

[@TheHenryFilms]

+BearWindAppleyard Knowing he's an engineer... he just wanted to make a time travel movie with no plot holes that had 100% internal logic and consistency. After drawing diagrams and figuring out the plot, though, it's incredibly confusing for someone just watching it.

[@iannordin5250]

BearWindAppleyard well it's actually deceptively easy to come up with a plot like this if you structure your time travel around 1 detail: you can only travel back in time to when you turned on the machine. that's probably how the idea started out and then complexity was added on later and revised. then you can build all of this stuff around a simple week cycle instead of a bunch of timey-wimy, alternate reality, paradox looping shit. the whole gimmick of primer actually allows us to make sense of what's going on because it actually plays to our sense of cause and effect time. the time travel itself isn't complicated but rather they way the story is told, through a bunch of in-depth engineering jargon and multiple characters, non-linear scenes, is.

[@veerdhawal24]

BearWindAppleyard it's a movie where u can't find plot holes unless u r some kind of Einstein

[@gootube3526]

Which Shane Carruth are you talking about? Shane 0, 1, 2, 3, 4.....

[@saltech3444]

I have just been listening to the Blu-Ray commentary on Primer with Shaun Carruth (I think this may be the same as the DVD commentary but I don't know for sure). Carruth DOES actually explain the Granger situation. I am surprised nobody has pointed it out. At about 57:00 on the commentary Carruth says that his original intention was that Rachel's ex, after waving a gun around at the party and not shooting, tracked down Rachel when she was by herself afterwards and murdered her. It was in those circumstances that Abe disclosed the existence of the time machine to Granger, in order that Granger could undo the murder. Presumably Aaron, overwhelmed by guilt at having invited the ex to the party, goes back in the failsafe and tries to undo the damage by getting the ex arrested at the party itself; but his first attempt is unsuccessful. Only by unloading the shotgun, and letting the ex wave it around longer, is the ex deemed a sufficiently credible threat by the police to lock him up at least long enough to prevent the murder happening. This paragraph, however, is my own speculation; Carruth only tells the story of the murder and how it prompts Abe to tell Granger about the box. This is very similar to a theory I had myself about why Granger goes back in time; but in my theory the shooting actually occurred AT the party. I don't think I have seen any analyses of Primer that includes this statement by Carruth, and as I say, I am surprised because many people must have listened to that commentary.

[@garyadamos]

Wow that makes sense thank you

[@tommasob79]

Thanx! Can u explain me one thing? When they decide to go punch Platt in the face and after to stop the children from waking up Abe at 3am.... The video says they do that to see what happensa if they break the simmetry. But in this case, thrre would be them (the 2 who stop the children) and their doubles (Abe that keeps sleeping and Aaron at his home) in the same timeline. What were they going to do at this point, i don't get it...

[@terryd8692]

That makes the whole movie make more sense. It all seems awfully complicated and well orchestrated for them to punch Platt and stop someone waving a shotgun around at a party. If we only see the end timeline, nothing particularly exciting happens with no hint of a murder. Much like if someone went back in time and killed Hitler before he got into power, the end result would be an uneventful end to the 30s, making the period rather unworthy of historical note. Maybe we need a directors cut that expands on the last 10 minutes of the film.

[@ddespair]

If the grainger part is true, why would mr grainger not be clean shaven like he was earlier? Where was he for all that time and why did he pass out?

[@zekthan32]

​@ddespair my assumption is he was told about the box even later than Friday. Say Saturday or Sunday because we KNOW in Abe 5 or Aaron 6 timeliness Rachel isn't murdered... yet. So he was in the box for day/s at that point. There's an argument that maybe she actually gets murdered on Saturday and the reason we never hear about it is because it's in Aaron 6 and Abe 5s future, which Granger averts, though not how he originally intended

[@thedarkflowkiller]

22:00 Actually it's also the reason he couldnt score the net on the basketball court. His hands are not in sync too ;)

[@iwatchyoutube6539]

He couldn't "score the net on the basketball court"? This might be the most European comment I've ever read. Just say make a shot lol

[@wowsuchhandle]

Their handwriting got bad only after they started time traveling.

[@Takkion]

@@iwatchyoutube6539 Just stop being american lol

[@cheifzero]

Nope, the time travel week happens after they tinker with the box and their hands got accidentally "de-synced". However this doesn't prevent aaron 2 from scoring. This is evidenced by the recording having the guy saying "nice shot aaron" but since aaron 6 misses Will says "that is ugly". Aaron 6 missing can be attributed to lack of proper sleep as he claims or just being beat up from the fight with aaron 2.

[@618033988749]

@@wowsuchhandle Yeah, I don't know why this theory has gained any traction.

[@TheBurleybrawler]

Best Primer explanation video around.

[@LondonCityGirl]

+burleybrawler really pleased you think so :) Thanks for commenting!

[@ianedmonds9191]

Agreed. Top analysis.

[@jamescrawford327]

I have chosen you to talk to from two years in your future BEHOLD and TREMBLE!!!!

[@pigboybig]

I never thought i would understand primer until watching this video

[@actionvids35]

what happened to aron 6 ?

[@byronswart6199]

10:01 - “here’s where it’s going to get complicated” . I didn’t even know what was going on before then lol

[@nickiissj]

fr... i was like MORE?

[@natedoggschip]

😮 What's so crazy about this movie is that even though this video is right on the money, even then, its still missing key parts of the intricacies thats is Primer... there are many parts glanced over that are paramount to understanding the reality of actually time traveling and paradoxes... STUNNING film... and Amazing review here.

[@GumbootZone]

I watched this film tomorrow, but it didn't make much sense. Now, with this explanation, I'll try again yesterday.

[@AmineHj]

+Kauwhaka nice way of putting it

[@randa140511]

That made me laugh a lot ! :)

[@jiggajigjones8210]

Gumboot Zone nice

[@junpeiiori4720]

pop pop!

[@mmb133]

The funny part is they never mentioned the word time machine in the movie

[@r3n3g4de9]

@Rat Kisser he said in the movie, not video

[@ivxwiv6692]

but they did mentioned "time travel"

[@VanCamelCat]

Agreed! It gives the notion that they are both incredibly smart, a real backbone. Note that I said smart, not "wise" 😅

[@alrodrigo1]

⁴

[@Damaged7]

@Grailer You don't even need a wormhole to do that, just incredible speed.

[@lockelamora8099]

... Needs a sequel. I want to see what happens when Aaron 337 decides to go back and kill all his doubles.

[@avoh111]

agreed

[@drivingtrucksisfun]

HAHAHAH

[@royparsons2155]

I WILL BE THE ONE!!!

[@josecoelho3012]

They wouldn't be doubles, but multiples instead

[@squaremarco]

LMAO

[@daniele8278]

I like the idea of treating each individual traveler as his own distinct timeline, rather than the timeline itself being a fixed point for all. This explains the 'point of origin' paradox. That is, why the moment that original Abe invented the box, he wasn't immediately visited by future Abe. The Abe 0 who was knocked out is more like Abe 0-alpha.

[@brockobama257]

This movie makes memento look like a disney flick

[@LondonCityGirl]

+Jacob Lee haha, great comment! :D

[@pussinboots4459]

It's easy to make a mind-fuck nobody would understand, it's tough to make a mind-fuck everybody would understand.

[@brockobama257]

Pussin BOOTS good point, and to be clear i wasn't saying memento was bad, i fucking love that movie

[@brockobama257]

***** i haven't seen that...yet

[@brockobama257]

***** im watching it this weekend!

[@selwynandrews9665]

Primer is a great movie, not only for the time travel complexity, but also because it's a zero-budget movie where the only special effects are the amazing ideas. Other sci-fi filmmakers, please note. Thanks for your excellent explanation!

[@aswinbeats]

Such a crystal clear explanation of one of the most complex movies ever. Great visualization, no fluff explanation and some "big picture" thoughts on why the characters did what they did. The movie makes so much more sense now. This is the best analysis of the Primer that I've seen. Well done. And, thanks for uploading this right before I watched it!

[@AllNoiseHere]

you're an absolute gem for including the little illustrations of the characters to help keep them organized. bless ya buns

[@earth137franz]

I watched the movie at Monday 9am. I didn't understand what the hell i just watched. So i locked myself in my room. At 5pm, i decided step outside my room to watch an explanation video about the movie and thankfully i found this one. After watching this video, i thought i might have finally understood it. Tuesday 9am, i watched the movie again. Still confused as shit. So i locked myself in my room. Decided to push the emergency sleep mode and just forget everything.

[@measl]

Awesome!

[@imachavel]

Wait, are you truly a double? Is that some multiple timeline shit?

[@Skynet_the_AI]

How do you know this information to begin with, if you forgot it?

[@fabiocataldo716]

Best coment

[@DBXZ21]

This shit's not funny. I read the whole expecting a good punchline

[@deadbeef33]

The thing you're missing is that it's implied that Rachel's Ex murdered Rachel with the shotgun, which is why Aaron went back in time using the failsafe in the firstplace, to prevent her from being murdered.

[@Rboym]

Wow. Oh man. Dang. You're right.

[@nakofan]

And also implied that they lost count on how many times he traveled back to stop the event from happening

[@KIager]

@@griffin2446 We see at the end that Aaron went on to create a huge box that could fit several more boxes inside, like Russian nesting dolls. This would allow him to travel back to a time *before* they created the first box. The entire movie could be just one of Aaron's many attempts at making sure everything goes as smoothly as possible, which could definitely include gassing Abe.

[@EVH5150iii]

Klager I would love a part 2

[@Thetruthneverhurts90]

@@KIager How would they get to a time before they built the box? I've just watched this film for the first time and it's blown my mind.

[@mosesmosestv]

This is the best explanation I've ever seen of PRIMER. Thank you!

[@mmarquiani]

Amazing explanation! About the "4). The Party Incident" (alternative explanation in description) I think this way too. Aaron didn't disarmed the crazy ex in the "first" party. The crazy ex scared everyone (maybe he killed Rachel, and maybe her death is the reason to his father back in time) in the party and nobody stopped him. This is a stronger reason to come back in time instead "just disarm him better".

[@eastweymouthchris]

undoubtedly something bad happened at Party0

[@OurBrainHurtsALot]

Pretty sure in the original timeline Rachel's ex actually killed Rachel in the party. Eventually, Granger, who was somewhat aware of Aaron's and Abe's machine, eventually discovered what it was and travelled back to save her daughter. I think he may have sabotaged the ex's shotgun somehow which allowed Aaron to disarm him. I also think this may have taken him several trials.

[@antzooma]

@@OurBrainHurtsALot this is so wrong, the box that Granger is using is created days after the party.

[@blimeycow]

Wow, this was fantastic! Thanks for making this.

[@matteuscamilamario]

I already saw this video before you uploaded it

[@LondonCityGirl]

😂😂

[@xenio_m]

Killer Queen has already touched this comment.

[@Marz2727]

@@xenio_m I see Jojo references everywhere now 😂😂

[@agb8764]

Ok, Mario Lapi 1

[@guym458]

Lmao

[@yoirulethegreat]

This is the most perfect explanation and the animation really helps...You seem to have put in a lot of hard work..good job

[@marcschofield6633]

I initially watched this about 6 or 7 years ago, and I'd always meant to watch it again. I watched it again this morning and felt I was getting on OK until nearly the end, and things just tumbled. Then I watched this brilliant video, I now want a nap 😄

[@libernihilus]

I noticed one thing. The reason Aaron first uses the failsafe is because, during the first series of events he does not attend the party. He only hears about it after the fact; and the unpredictability of the event scares him which makes him feel it necessary to attend the party each time Monday is replayed. The clue for this is the conversation when he comes clean to Abe about discovering the failsafes - "He never fires the gun. He didn't the time I wasn't there, he didn't the time I was... this way we know he goes to jail. We know everything, we're prescient. So are we doing this or not?" This is a big issue with them getting "stuck" doing the party scene every time they have to go back to Monday morning thereafter. How many times until he got it right? Twenty? It's implied that it stops being about Rachel's safety and turns into an ego trip thing for Aaron . It must have been perfect with all the praise and adoration he had coming. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't been there?

[@cranberrycanvas]

i heavily suspected there was an original timeline where alot of this didnt happen

[@franciscopetrucci]

But if he didnt attend the party, and the crazy ex didnt fire the gun even when he wasnt there... then why does he need to go back and attend the party? Things had already "worked out" without him there. Did he go just so he could be the one to disarm the guy?

[@Squant]

@@franciscopetrucci This is discussed in the film. Even though nobody was hurt, there's still a dangerous guy out there just waiting for the opportunity to catch Rachel alone. They saw the party as their best chance of getting him arrested.

[@Shallabais100]

I need an explanation video for this explanation video

[@AniketKapse]

Lmao.

[@9thmaggot]

LooooooooL

[@zack19192]

This is the easiest explanation you will get for this movie, trust me.

[@9thmaggot]

+zack19192 indeed, but that was just a joke, a good one too xD

[@leoric21]

but it Would be better with sock puppets

[@feartheoldblood]

So essentially they're portraying dont invite a friend when you time travel.

[@bachmanity_]

It's good that the director Shane Carruth deliberately kept things complicated so that the audience would grasp just how complicated the science in the film might be, and why time travel is not practical at all.

[@superkid12345]

thank you for this, badly needed. Great film just made that much better

[@LondonCityGirl]

+gorobot so pleased that the video has proved helpful for fellow fans of the film :D

[@mnlg_yt]

I was always fascinated about the handwriting degradation. Your explanation for it is awesome, thank you!

[@ShynAwkward]

I just traveled back in time to comment/warn myself not to watch this video before watching the movie.......

[@ShynAwkward]

+Shy'N'Awkward It's too late - I've already seen it!

[@ShynAwkward]

+Shy'N'Awkward How can you have seen it when *I* haven't seen it yet?......

[@ShynAwkward]

+Shy'N'Awkward I edited the first comment to warn you in advance!

[@brockobama257]

+Shy'N'Awkward The failsafe is broken! head back to the mothership!

[@jobelthirty1294]

+Shy'N'Awkward What if the second one was the first one to edit the comment and the first is truly the second acting as the first after successfully creating his own loop? Who was the first one to travel, then, the first or the second? Or are they then the same person? Never create your own loop unless you're willing to close it, and why create this loop over a spoiler to a movie so confusing in itself? You're not just making a pun, you're suggesting rules that weren't truly explained, even in Primer. This comment section is proof that even the people who made this movie couldn't have understood the implications of the plot in the first place. I bet they wish time travel was real so that they could stop themselves from writing the script, but wouldn't that just be creating another loop for us to ponder on and try to explain? What if Primer was the second time writing the script, after successfully seeing the first one have a commercial success? Is the loop open or closed then? Why would it even matter considering that it doesn't effect our timeline other than the conversation right now? Is this the first time I've commented this? Is it worse to be paranoid or know that you should be?

[@EmmaFrostRules]

First off, thank you for this video. I just discovered Primer. I watched it today and was admittedly confused. Your video helped immensely and very much enhanced my enjoyment of the movie.

[@DscntnuousMgntic]

Such a fantastic breakdown, totally brilliant description of the mechanics of the plot. I saw this in a tiny one theater cinema when it was released. My friend was a projectionist there and I did indeed rewatch it 3 times in a couple of days to cement my understanding. Truly the best time travel story I know!

[@KelsaRavenlock]

Low budget doesn't even cover it, the project cost was $7000 US.

[@Civsuccess2]

The washing machine that ramble cost 500 USD.

[@kitty-rf9zu]

it’s insane

[@618033988749]

@@Civsuccess2 What?

[@greensabr200]

that number is the number in my savings

[@jamestreasure5403]

No way

[@williampennjr.4448]

The funny thing is, it seems like a very simple story at the first watch but the more times you watch it you catch tiny details that reveal how complex it really is.

[@berkayozdemir9131]

Yeah, I was really confident about understanding the whole movie until our boy Aaron threw us for a loop and then I got lost

[@juliemay5959]

.. I truly dont explain.

[@juliemay5959]

I truly dont *understand

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

i really didn't think it was possible, but this lady managed to explain the whole movie in a very simple and easy way, and now i am happy about what i know....great job lady.

[@shindukess]

Interesting observation I made about the muffin scene. I looked over it as weird but realized it represents something. It represents Abe still being meticulous and careful about everything. Whereas at this point Aaron is messy and careless with his multiple timelines, messy clothes, carrying his phone and forgetting the details about the game they bet on. Abe being interrupted from eating his muffin by Aaron wanting food influences Abe to start becoming careless and creating duplicates of himself when wanting to go back and punch Platts and scare off the kids. Also he dresses more relaxed a little like Aaron, both wearing sweaters over untucked shirts with unbuttoned collars and pants as opposed to his tie he always had and tucked in shirt. I tried making a connection with the color grading of scenes but I think it's inconsistent. Some scenes were yellow gold like afternoon sun, green like the matrix or regular natural colors. Green seemed to have them interacting with the time equipment in some way and its varying stages, natural was the original timeline, yellow time traveled.

[@shindukess]

Another small observation. When Abe and Aaron go to the lab to learn about the fungus Aaron leaves his office commenting about what they do with engineers when they hit 40. But when they're in the lab the old man makes same the comment and Aaron didn't know the answer. So the scene with the old man was likely the original timeline then the scene in the office was a replay. Don't know about the colors again but in the office the color was tinted green and in the lab with the old man natural colors.

[@boodesultan12]

I have not watched the movie but saw this video and read your comment To Me it seems like Arron is very arrogant and has big of ego, like you said he is messy and doesn't follow any of the rules and has caused so many problems according to the video implications

[@shindukess]

@@boodesultan12 he's willing to push the limits causing irreparable damage and catastrophe. I figure his messiness and sloppy mistakes also stem from being extremely exhausted because he's doing much more with his repeat time travels than Abe.

[@boodesultan12]

@@shindukess this might explain why he is bleeding as apposed to abe who is fainting

[@shindukess]

@@boodesultan12 yeah Abe fainted because he was in the machine for like a week with no food or drink and not normal air to breathe. This is also after their many time travels to get rich and experiment. Pretty strenuous on the body.

[@BobbyJericho]

I really think the reason Granger came back in the past is that something went really wrong to at least one of the main characters when they went back to punch Platt. That's why they had to ask Granger for help and also, I think that's why Granger was there at this very moment where they were about to go to Platt's house to punch him.

[@SquishBaron]

@mossad I'm assuming that it was because Granger was physically weaker. He was in a vegetative state when he's found so its likely that he got knocked pretty hard in the head, either from when Aaron fell over trying to catch him, or from him fainting due to time travel.

[@anthonyd.8067]

Yea maybe they go to punch Platt and have falls awkwardly running away and smashes his head and dies, they get arrested and now they need Granger to go back to stop them.

[@PaulMDove2]

I think Granger came back from many days in the future after witnessing many duplicate Abes and Aarons. He says "legion" which can mean a vast number of people.

[@jrjubach]

Interesting. Do we know the relationship between Granger and Platt, if there is one? (All these years later and this film still has me thinking)

[@Shendue]

@@jrjubach That's why it's a great movie.

[@Eudaletism]

Everything seems so simple, then all of a sudden everything unravels at once.

[@DDD111-n5v]

This was immensely helpful. Thank you. Can’t wait to rewatch the film!

[@Pr0x1mo]

This is great. If you're still around, have you ever read the online book that we created at the Primer forums? If not, it basically discusses everything you posted in this video, plus little factoids on each line of dialog and why its important. Shane always said that postulating the why's of Granger, the party were always impossible because we'll never know what really happened since they kept replacing timelines. He did however tell us that what we guessed was extremely plausible as to why Granger was involved. One of the theories is that either on the first time line, or a time line after where Aaron was involved with the party, Rachel died. It could have happened the first timeline who knows, but its more probably it happened after Aaron created his own fail safe. Ex shows up with a shotgun, and accidentally shoots rachel. Aaron feeling guilty that this all happened because of him trying to play hero forcing these events to occur so he can disarm the ex, goes and tells Granger his daughter died, but that they can prevent it. From there, thats when Granger goes back in time. The beard growth is also a hint at how many days ago Granger came back from. If its approximately 3 days beard growth, and its friday, then Granger is probably from a Monday or Tuesday box... Granger traveling back so many days explains why he's so weak when they catch him. After Aaron and Granger stop the accident from happening there is a disagreement between Aaron and Granger. Does Granger not want to keep quiet about time traveling and do something concerning his own motives? Does Aaron want to drug him up and erase the timeline from happening at all? Something happens and Granger tries to get away form Aaron. At that point, thats where Aaron and Abe in the car spot him and chase him. So... why did Granger give chase? Why didn't he just stop and talk to them? Its probably because he saw Aaron and thought it was the other Aaron that was chasing him and started running again. Great video by the way. Also you should do another video on this concerning more dialog the way you explained the "rats in the attic" one. There's another great liner where when they travel back in time supposedly for the first time, Abe gets out first from the box, then a few seconds later Aarond comes out and Abe says, "you got out too soon." That's a great line. How is it, if Abe got out first, that aaron got out too soon?

[@guyincognito.]

The longer you stay in the box, the farther back in time you go. Abe stayed in the box longer, so he got out the box farther in the past. He then had to wait for Aaron to get out the box because Aaron traveled less far back in time because he got out the box 'too soon'. I mean if your question isn't rhetorical....

[@NortheastGamer]

@@guyincognito. That's how I always understood that line. Although I usually have to pause the movie and think about it for a few seconds before I come to that conclusion.

[@beardbeardler2713]

I really like the motivation for Granger traveling back (Rachel dying), but one wrinkle I see in the theory is why Aaron feel so guilty about Rachel's death that he would tell Granger and then travel back, instead of just travelling back himself like he's been doing all along? Aaron and Abe discuss (in regards to Granger, even) that they can't come up with any emergency that would require them to include Granger (or anyone else for that matter). They both are absolutely motivated to NOT tell anyone. Abe already fucked up by including Aaron and unknowingly lost control of the failsafe. Aaron being the incredibly smart guy he is, isn't going to make the same mistake and risk losing control.

[@keelahrose]

@@beardbeardler2713 The video didn't mention Rachel dying; what's up with that?

[@beardbeardler2713]

@@keelahrose It's not stated in the movie, the person I was replying to said it's a fan theory. I was just saying that I really like that theory and feel like it fits.

[@TimeandMonotony]

Thanks a million, this really helped!

[@redshirtwookiee]

This is possibly the best explanation of the movie that I've ever seen. I love this movie and this explanation confirms what I knew already: That even the first time Aaron and Abe have the conversation at the bench, it's not the initial version of Aaron we see listening to "march madness".

[@calmgee]

This honestly was a really good explanation video. Thanks a bunch for taking out the time to make it for all the people who struggled with understanding this movie’s plot the way it was intended.

[@patrickslaughter3964]

Huge congrats to you for this amazing piece of work. I love this film and have seen it 20+ times and (try to) make everyone I know watch it but you've nailed the timeline in a way I 'felt' but never 'got' before. Thank you :)

[@undreamtsturm]

That really helped out a lot. I had no idea there was even three Aaron's at any point. The movie looks so different now.

[@Eyasgea]

Their hands traveling back in time theory is really good!! I never would've thought of that i love it

[@getnis-m6g]

especially when one of them says'your left hand still works the same' it points way more to this theory than brain damage or something

[@QC_Charlottean]

This is the best ever! You did such a great job synthesizing down something extremely complex. I want to thank you honestly for the work on this.

[@cruximperator]

Steins;Gate and Primer are the 2 best time travel stories ever and I’ve watched an obscene amount of time travel fiction so you can’t tell me “oh you haven’t watched this [insert movie/tv show]” because chances are I’d have already seen it by travelling back to 5am this morning and disproved you. Also this analysis deserves praise.

[@subscriptioncharitybegging1741]

Just watched the film followed by your commentary. Great stuff, very nicely done. Thank you for this.

[@vaibhavmehta6016]

you've taken care of every detail....

[@LondonCityGirl]

thank you :) Always great to get positive feedback on this video!

[@chairmobile]

One thing you might have missed is whether or not quantum entanglement happened between Aaron and Granger, which would potentially explain why Granger and Aaron can't get near each other without suffering adverse side effects (Granger passing out, for example). This might happen because Granger might have gotten into the same box (turned on at 5pm on Thursday) that was turned on and used by Aaron to go back in time. This assumes that the Platt-punching plan actually did happen, or alternatively, that Granger used Aaron's failsafe box to get back to that point in time (which is before Aaron himself would use it). Given two separate people using the same box at effectively the same time, there's potentially entanglement between the particles within the box because of the 50/50 shot of what is in the box travelling back to 5pm Thursday (or potentially even before then). The film never provides a really solid answer on this, obviously.

[@markshawjr.1923]

LondonCityGirl great video! I agree with everything except the end. Another theory is the phone call isn't Aaron 2 explaining things to Aaron 0, I think he's explaining things to Abe 0. AbeX stayed behind to prevent Abe0 from inventing time travel. This could potentially erase Aaron6 or effect him in some way similar to the granger incident. Aaron 6 is happy with his life in France and wants to preserve that timeline. So he calls Abe0 to inspire him to create the time machine, despite Abe X's meddling

[@kakamaru5]

+Mark Shaw Jr. Interesting theory but I think it makes more sense for it to be Aaron 2 he's talking to considering Aaron 2 had been locked away in the attic all that time and he was need an explanation as to why and a reason not to call the police etc. etc. etc.

[@gracefool]

Mark Shaw Jr. That can't be true, there is no retroactive effect on anything. Not inventing time travel cannot effect Aaron 6. Primer uses parallel universes.

[@jhornacek]

I listened to both commentaries on the DVD more than once and this video made more sense than either of them. That's not the commentaries' fault - their purpose is not to explain everything in the movie. They are entertaining, and I think Carruth purposely wanted to leave the movie unclear to the viewers about how all the time travel works. Still not 100% clear on everything, but this video helped. Thanks.

[@jcarter6613]

Thank you. Excellent video! I'd say it's the best clarification of the the paths we see travelled in the film. My interpretation diverges a bit from other viewers' on a few aspects. One is how many times Abe has used the box. Another is the failsafe. We don't see it, but I think by the time Abe introduces Aaron to the box, Abe has travelled a number of times. Maybe not several, but surely multiple. It's inherent in the language he uses as he describes the process to Aaron. "There's always leaks", etc. Also, it just seems logical from an experimental standpoint. It seems like a big presumption to think that Abe would create a failsafe box before testing the box he eventually shows Aaron. First go-around, how confident could he possibly have been that the process was going to be successful or repeatable? It seems more likely that he tested the non-failsafe box, realized success, had the presence of mind to know he needed a failsafe, took the time to build and install it; then started the failsafe and went downstairs and restarted the non-failsafe box. Only after does he go and naively share his discovery with Aaron. When the narrator is describing the circumstances of Aaron finding and using the failsafe, he talks about folding up only one of the non-failsafe boxes and taking it back with him. This makes sense regarding Aaron's character. Aaron is acting on rather selfish motivations throughout the film. He convinces Abe to exclude their other partners from the initial invention, before Abe ever makes the life-size box. He returns a number of times to manipulate the party scenario, not so much to assure Rachel's safety, but to make it so he plays the hero of the situation. In the car outside the storage facility, he pleads with Abe "don't do this again, not where it effects me"; but at that time, that Aaron had already used the failsafe and was just pretending that all of this was new to him. Aaron's actions are consistently out of ego. Aaron took one box back through the failsafe and sets up his own, so he can be the Primer, the 'prime-est'. This is why this I enjoy this film so much. It's so dense with pertinent information. The time travel aspects, the mechanics of it, are all fascinating to speculate about, but the emotional journey of it all is just as alluring for me. How we see Aaron becoming morally untethered just as Abe is grasping for firmer ground. For such a short runtime, this film is rich.

[@karlthunderaxe]

aaron would need two replacement failsafe boxes though -- one to replace the original for abe so that he doesn't realize his failsafe has been replaced and can still go back in time and believe he's successfully aborting the whole project not knowing that aaron has already beat him to it; and another for him to go back and replay everything while listening to the recording that he's made on his first trip back to the beginning

[@AJ-ku7nm]

10 min in. "Now hear is where it's going to get complicated" wtf lol.

[@LondonCityGirl]

haha, well, maybe I should have said 'MORE complicated' :)

[@Pointless_Porcupine]

I first watched Primer in 2009 and I don't think there was any explanation videos like this, all I could find was some forum posts but I was 13 and couldn't make sense of much. I always remembered liking the film though. Just rewatched Primer 12 years later and found this. Amazing job on this video, it clears up so much. If only I could somehow show it to my 13 year old self... Hmmm

[@tonysu8286]

OMG I was frustrated that I dont understand the movie and cancelled the streaming, and Somehow I found this great explanation which altered my thought that the movie's script and story was astonishing. I experienced much greater from this video rather than the film honestly.

[@JuanHernandez-ze3si]

Superb. Great breakdown of PRIMER. I haven't watched the movie in over 15 years, but I did watch it about 3 times and because of this video I will be revisiting it.

[@911naimplate]

Most complicated time travel sequence I have ever seen. Great explanation from this video but even this video needs to be viewed several times to completely understand. Damn, I need more coffee...........

[@porassrivastava8242]

It's extremely amazing that this movie was made on a budget of 7k dollars. The concept is far beyond any Hollywood movie, the acting and direction is superb. And this video does justice in explaining what happens in the movie.

[@arickdelacuesta]

WOW!!! Congratulations! Best explaining ever! I will watch PRIMER again! (another time) Thanks a lot!!!

[@profmalicious]

There's another possible side effect to time travel. Aaron and Abe seem to switch personalities over the course of the film, with one getting more reckless and the other getting weirdly defensive of his friend's family

[@soupgirl1864]

Interesting, but I'm afraid that's just character development. They were in completely separate machines.

[@Shendue]

They are not switching personalities, but it is DEFINETELY implied that time travel is damaging their brain. They bleed, faint and even start losing the ability to write correctly. I think it implies that the fact their behaviour becomes more erratic and unusual it's not just due to the stress and the god complex derived from the implications of time travel, but they are also mentally degenerating without realizing.

[@maricampari3970]

Doesent Abe use Aaron's original failsafe box, and then build a separate one for himself? He arrived to Monday in an emergency box that Aaron made, and only then did he make his own failsafe. Abe may have modified himself that way.

[@jadeandjesse5908]

@@maricampari3970 They say that the boxes can be disassembled and fit inside another box. So Aaron uses Abe's failsafe box without with knowledge and brings back another box, setting it up so that they can have as many failsafes as they need.

[@thetooginator153]

Thank you for making this video! Part of the problem for me is that it was difficult to hear what the characters were saying at times. It was a bit frustrating trying to figure out what's going on when the sound wasn't great. Maybe my hearing isn't perfect, but I wonder if anyone else missed some key dialog. Nonetheless, your explanation helped me a lot! I had a basic idea what was happening, but I didn't understand it NEARLY as well as you did! Great work!

[@HaLo2FrEeEk]

dudeimbored That's always been a frustration of mine with dialog between characters that are familiar with each other. I'm sure you know as well as I do, real people don't talk like they do in movies. You stutter, you stop to think for a second, you say the wrong word and correct yourself, talk over each other, etc. In this movie, it was a little jarring at first because you're not used to that kind of realistic conversation in movies, but a few minutes in and I loved it. I actually quite liked the technical jargon, that's how real people, who are all familiar with a concept, actually talk. He took out the exposition via dialog and it lent itself really well to the movie's overall feel. My only real complaint (and it might not even be one) was the conversation about the batteries. That felt a little exposition-y to me. And also, while car batteries are nominally around 12v (even the crappy ones) when fully charged they're actually closer to around 13.2v, which means both batteries, fully charged, would be around 26.4v. The way this wouldn't be a complaint (and again it goes back to the exposition and talking about stuff that doesn't matter) is if the voltage was being regulated, individually per battery (since he disconnects one), down to 12v exactly. Idk, small potatoes for what was really a very smart film.

[@thetooginator153]

+dudeimbored If you guy could actually hear the words these guys were saying, you did better than I did. I have always had a bit of trouble filtering out extraneous noise, and it's gotten worse with age. I'm a retired computer programmer and electronics nerd, so I really wanted to hear what they were saying. Again, if you guys could hear and understand what these guys said, it must be me. I understood scenes like the park bench because the spoke it turns and the sound seemed good to me. Maybe they re-recorded that scene's dialog in studio because of ambient noise (just a thought).

[@AshleyEllwood]

TheTooginator i couldn't hear half of what anyone said the first 15 or so minutes and i dont seem to have any hearing issues. still an amazing movie that was made for $7,000.

[@thetooginator153]

+Ashley Ellwood Thanks! I'm glad I'm not the only one. I agree that the movie is great (especially for the budget). I like movies that assume the audience isn't ignorant. The movie "Interstellar" was pretty good - until a character said that "love" had guided him through different dimensions. That's just a LITTLE difficult to buy.

[@eadlynjune]

Me too. It wasn’t just the dialogue, sometimes I genuinely couldn’t hear what they were saying. They spoke too low or it was too far away.

[@TC-st9nt]

Thank you for this. I'm not a dumb person but I felt like a damned idiot watching this movie and was relieved to see I wasn't the only one when I looked up what the hell I just saw. This video was perfect. Thanks again. And after watching this video I'm officially renaming myself to Tony Zero, just to uncomplicate things if I ever decide to travel back in time. ;)

[@Trysmiling]

+Anthony Caputa Oh my God..me too! I am usually really good with following time travel movies but, I was like a blank slate at the end of this one. I refused to watch it again to make myself figure it out but, I just couldn't and I felt so stupid. I still haven't watched it again because I wanted to see what key element I may have missed and this video sure helped! I will watch again tomorrow, keeping this explanation in mind the whole time. Her numbering them helped. It did not help that their names where both names that begin with "A." That just complicated it more. With all the letter's in the alphabet, they couldn't have been Abe and Michael or something? LOL

[@TC-st9nt]

GiGi Yeah it was crazy how complicated they were able to make this movie.

[@_RT.Tony_]

T C my name is tony and I’m the new tony 0 “2.0”

[@danielcruz215]

Woke up middle of the night remembering I watched this movie 10 years ago. Remembered I didn't understand it at all. Read articles on it and was still confused but this video helped! Now gonna watch the movie again after so many years with a semi understanding of the timeline

[@vaibhavtoshniwal]

This is the by far best explanation of Primer I have seen ! The animations helped a lot to understand the time travel. Great Work. Much Appreciated

[@everest001]

Thanks for this amazing breakdown. I watched this movie quite a few times and never really got close to this level of understanding. Not that it really compromised my enjoyment I have to say. What is also amazing is how little the movie cost to make. Incredible.

[@Unhacker]

Even though this is the best unraveling of Primer I've yet seen (fantastic job!), and I've seen the movie dozens of times, and I've dissected it with many friends much smarter than me...I still don't feel I've got a handle on who was where when. But the time travel mechanism of the machine, Abe's simple solution to temporal doppelgangers, and foldable boxes are all logically consistent - a large part of what makes this one of the best time travel movies ever. Maybe humans just aren't meant to think this way about time. :)

[@7on5on10]

So satisfying. I watched Primer 3 times but I couldn't get it. Thanks

[@kruifsarkany7582]

You did amazing job in breaking the film down, saved me from having to watch it over and over again and the way you put it here was easy to understand IMO. Plus the lovely voice you have make it perfect. Thumbs up for me and keep up the good work clever girl

[@steeleye2112]

Utterly brilliant, perfectly presented and easy to follow. If only all teachers understood how to communicate as well.

[@skepticalbadger]

Very, very well explained, thank you so much! I had problems with the actual film-making side of this movie, because it made an already super complicated plot even harder to follow. For once I would have appreciated having more spelled out to me. But I suppose given the tiny budget and ambitious plot, I have to give the movie some credit.

[@Nimno74]

so glad to see someone appreciated this film enough to discuss in depth