PRIMER (2004) - ILLUSTRATED EXPLANATION

UPDATE & A THANK YOU!
I've now passed 7000 subscribers and this is a real achievement for me :D
I understand lots my subscribers would like to see more science videos and rest assured there are several more on the way which I hope to upload by the end of this year.
Animated videos take a fair amount of work so that's why I need time in between videos so bear with me. I'm working hard this end and I appreciate your support :D
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PRIMER
Primer is a mind bending science fiction film with one of the most challenging plot lines to follow. I've created this video for people who enjoy the film as much as I do.
If you haven't seen the film I highly recommend it and it is available on Netflix.
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SUMMARY
Two friends, Abe and Aaron, have inadvertently invented time travel.
Initially the plan is to use it to make money but the power of time travel gets the better of them as the pair double cross each other and create multiple doubles and time lines.
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ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS (this section has been added after some interesting comments made by subscribers and viewers of this video).
1). The Phone Call - the video states that the phone call is made by Aaron 2 to Aaron 0 but there is an alternative; Aaron 2 could be calling Abe 0 instead.
Why I opted for Aaron 2 calling Aaron 0:
(a). Aaron is a selfish character and I think it's more likely that he will feel he owes Aaron 0 (another version of himself) an explanation rather than Abe 0.
(b). Abe 5's reaction to gassing himself is profound and Aaron 2 may have felt a similar sense of guilt after drugging Aaron 0 which caused him to contact Aaron 0 at a later date.
2). The Final Aaron (who is instructing the build of a larger box) - the video states this Aaron is Aaron 2 but the alternative is that it could be Aaron 6.
Why I opted to say it's Aaron 2 building the larger box rather than Aaron 6:
(a) the phone call from Aaron 2 plays over the scene
(b) Aaron 2 had less exposure to the aftermath of everything that went wrong owing to all the mismanaged time traveling so I felt that he was likely to be more reckless in a shorter time frame than Aaron 6 and
(c) Aaron 6 mentions at the airport that he might go to Vegas or even Russia and doesn't seem to have a proper plan as to what he will do next, however I do think it's likely that Aaron 6 will eventually build another box because as a character he's rash.
3). Handwriting deteriorating & ear bleeds
One subscriber points out that both of these could be symptoms of the bodies deteriorating each time a copy is created.
4). The Party Incident
In the video it is presumed that Aaron managed to disarm Rachel's crazy ex on the first night of the party but an alternative is that he didn't and that may be the reason why Aaron 1 decided to go back to Monday morning using the failsafe.
CORRECTION:
The video states that the film's director is Steve Carruth when in fact it is SHANE Carruth - my mistake, apologies :)
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BACKGROUND MUSIC USED:
Running - iStock.com/Vytenis Misevicius
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DONNIE DARKO - ILLUSTRATED EXPLANATION:
• DONNIE DARKO (2001) - ...

[@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....

[@fathomsynth6602]

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.

[@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.

[@Saladicious_]

@@secondwaveprod The most guy thing ever

[@PentameronSV]

@@Saladicious_ The most thing ever

[@boshugo]

@@PentameronSV The most ever

[@R0XyM0h]

@@boshugo the ever

[@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"

[@mrngamer272]

Yes

[@nellurban7826]

whoa.

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@aldousorwell3807]

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

[@UrbanShaolinTShirts]

excellent

[@szeltovivarsydroxan9944]

*in the faith

[@derrekgillespie413]

Underrated comment

[@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

[@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.

[@z4520ft]

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

[@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.

[@suicidebylifestyle9267]

I think what I like most about this movie is time travel happens in real time, you wanna go back two days? have a fun 48 hours in the box, it kinda put rational limits on the story. as rational as time travel that is.

[@studogYT]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Watson_(author)#Short_fiction The Very Slow Time Machine contains this premise.

[@condor2279]

And they can't go back to before they invented it.

[@suicidebylifestyle9267]

EXACTLY!, another good movie that has more logical time travel...kinda....is Predestination. if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it. not on the same level as primer IMO but still a damn good watch.@@condor2279

[@ZacharyLobato]

@@condor2279 What if they put a box turned on in a box and enter it after getting back to the time they invented it?

[@condor2279]

@@ZacharyLobato I'm not sure how the box would interact if it was switched on inside another box.

[@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?

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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. 🤣

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@davidsanders9723]

I came in pretty skeptical that this would really clear anything up for me. Glad that I was mistaken. I'm in awe at how informative this was.

[@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!

[@byronswart6199]

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

[@katsu_fries]

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

[@NickBolland]

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

[@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!

[@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.....

[@Eyasgea]

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

[@henrikbartnes8424]

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

[@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

[@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 😀

[@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

[@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.

[@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. :)

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@EpicBlackflame07]

Every few years I love coming back to this video. It's such a great explanation to one of my favorite time travel movies. Thank you

[@ThreeToesofFury]

SAME!

[@boredyoutubeuser]

Sheesh, I came here from time travel explained, and this is epic! I like it just as much as the omeleto time travel video!

[@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.

[@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...

[@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.

[@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.

[@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?

[@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.

[@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

[@Nimno74]

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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@radiokarma7018]

Has anyone else noticed there seems to another Abe along with Granger? In that scene when Aaron and Abe realize Granger is following them, there’s a quick cut to someone running between houses. If you pause it the person looks quite like Abe. My thought is maybe Abe and Granger came back after whatever happened to Rachel in the first timeline (just like Aaron did). Abe is passed out on the day after the prototype box is turned on when we see him. Perhaps that was the other Abe’s doing so he could get a head start on him and he and Granger could make sure Rachel is saved. It also seems that Aaron and Granger fight for some reason (Aaron says he tripped). I’m willing to bet that has something to do with the Aaron that leaves to build the new box. After all, he needs quite a bit of money to do that. Maybe he tried to extort Granger? Or maybe Granger just hates him? The way Aaron says it is super shady. There’s also the chance that it was Aaron who is running between the house. It’s hard to tell but definitely something connected to the Granger mystery. Edit: it’s definitely another Abe. Plus, the camera pans back to the car Abe each time they show the alley Abe. I wonder if he was able to use the very first box as a failsafe? Either way I’m super interested as to why he’s there.

[@davicorosello1588]

Hi there. Im thinking this Granger thing is the only think unexplained in this video. Remenber Abe tells Aaron an emergency will be the only reason to time travel to the first safebox. But, what if that emergency reason was that in the next party, the one that happen when the original Abe and Aaeon never time traveled, the ex boyfriend kills the girl because they never have the ability to be "scientist" or whatever its spelled. So the "movie" continues even before the end, with Abe using the safebox to save Rachel and at the same time showing Granger that the machines works and he could gain money/recognition/whatever he looking at the end of the movie.

[@davicorosello1588]

The last Abe knows that there are 2 safeboxes.

[@keval_yt]

@@davicorosello1588 prescient

[@jsupim1]

After they find Granger, Abe says „I know he changed this. I know we didn’t have this conversation the first time through” (implying this timeline is not the first time through, i.e. it's not the first time Abe lived through that night). But Abe seems genuinely surprised and doesn't understand what happened. So I don't think he knew, at that point, why and how Granger went back in time; that version of him wasn't working together with Granger. As for the cutting to Abe running between houses, I think it's simply nonlinear storytelling. The film cuts a few minutes ahead to give a sense of chaos and urgency.

[@christophergallagher3721]

@@jsupim1 - "I know he changed this. I know we didn't have this conversation the first time through" can be gleaned through deduction. The first time through would not have had a Granger visit the Abe and Aaron that went through that evening, ergo there's a change. It doesn't require him to have firsthand knowledge to be certain of that change.

[@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 ?

[@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.

[@arickdelacuesta]

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

[@trulytrue8008]

I just finished the movie Tenet, and immediately checked to see if you had done an analysis video. You’re the only channel I trust for such things!

[@feartheoldblood]

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

[@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!

[@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

[@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.

[@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!

[@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

[@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.

[@Disambiguation144]

Outstanding film. I wish I could watch it again for the first time. Bravo to all involved.

[@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

[@mosesmosestv]

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

[@witchmorrow]

okay I'm in awe... this must be one of the most complicated film explanations ever, on the whole of youtube. Simply amazing!

[@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.

[@Eudaletism]

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

[@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

[@sergiomarcen]

Hands down the BEST explanation on the internet by far. I'm impressed. Thank you!

[@Fregmazors]

Thank you for presenting all of this in a comprehensible manner. I missed some of this when I watched the movie, but now that you lay it out like this, it makes perfect sense and isn't that hard to understand.

[@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' :)

[@blimeycow]

Wow, this was fantastic! Thanks for making this.

[@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.

[@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 😄

[@Weho2]

20 minute video??!? felt like fucking 2 mins!!

[@mrblaoblao6981]

Weho2 Did you travel back in time? Are you Weho2-0, or Wehi2-1?

[@trex1652]

Weho2 wow I was thinking it was like 5. It's amazing how something interesting can do that.

[@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.

[@NaCl_AQ]

Your explanation about the handwriting is amazing. I had never connected these two points together when watching the film.

[@ReMattch]

I used to think Back to the Future was Easy Mode time traveling and Primer was hard mode. Now it almost feels like Tenet and the tv show Dark are easy mode and this movie is Insane mode

[@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.

[@thomaschoi1476]

It took me 3 notes to comprehend the movie without watching it at all. Thank you for the kind explanation.

[@Felix-Sited]

Well done! I've never been able to wrap my head around this film until your explanation.

[@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.

[@samk4408]

The only thing I noticed you forgot is Abe actually turns a delayed switch at 8:45am which then activates it at 9am, so that Abe 0 has 15 minutes to run away and not interact with Abe 1 when he emerges at 9am. -Also, Abe 5 most likely passes out from not eating for the 4 days he spends time traveling from Friday back to Monday, and not from the effects of the time travel itself.

[@inchboy1]

Abe 5 passed out because he heard the script of this film from Aaron.

[@barbblackwoodgregory6867]

I heard Shane Carruth say (either in the commentary or an interview, I don't remember) that Abe passed out from not eating. Originally he was supposed to be diabetic or something, but they took that part out of the script.

[@deepanshupanwar501]

She clearly mentions it in the beginning that all the times will be rounded off.

[@Siggi-Bear]

But Aaron also went far back so shouldnt he suffer like abe does?

[@EyeForKnowledge.]

Aaron stated food would be a luxury during that amount of time in the box. I don't know why they wouldn't bring food. But water and everything else.

[@ozamiel2012]

What a great video! At some point, I completely lost what was going on in the movie, and you made it all clear. Honestly, well done.

[@orconoftime]

Finally got around to watching Primer. Thank you for these fun videos; they really help the overall enjoyment these films provide!

[@internziko]

BTW.. I have this theory about the party.. I think at the very first instance of the party Rachel's Ex killed her and that was the reason that Granger was somehow allowed to use the box by arron.. I think there's a secret Aaron (Arron 7) walking around somewhere..

[@LondonCityGirl]

+paul Z Hi Paul, thanks for watching and commenting. You know what? That same thought crossed my mind but I didn't find enough evidence in the film to include it in this video but your theory could be a possibility for sure...it would explain why Granger came back and why Aaron was so desperate to repeat the Monday.

[@fg3901]

I assumed that was the reason Mr. Granger went back.

[@Yggdrasil42]

Given how protective Aaron and Andy are of their invention I doubt they'd include Granger. Especially since they themselves could go back to prevent Rachel's presumed death and didn't need Granger for that.

[@donkeydarko77]

@@Yggdrasil42 If they didn't include Granger, then how was he using the box?