PRIMER (2004) Past and present (tense!)

In PRIMER, two young engineers accidentally create a device that permits them to travel backwards in time for short periods. At first, Aaron and Abe use it only to benefit from the stock market, but the more they meddle with yesterdays, the messier grow their todays. Not an easy film to follow, but worth the effort for its unusual plot structure, complex (and overlapping) dialogue, and for not dumbing down its "hard" sci-fi premise about time travel and the paradoxes and problems that result. (Trivia notes: Filmed with a crew of five in only five weeks near Dallas, the film was produced for only $7,000. Shane Carruth, a former mathematician and engineer, served as writer, director, producer and cinematographer, as well as editor and music composer (using his home computer). He also stars as Aaron. While writing the script, he studied physics in order to make the technical jargon authentic.)