There is a film floating around the net called "Upside Down" which was filmed in Canada by some sort of foreign consortium and then held back, even though it was supposed to be released in 2011/2012. It is extraordinary. Some call it an "existentialist love story," which was a bit confusing at first since I did not realize that there is actually a class of films called "existentialist" but if you check the IMDb, there is. And, this is amazing, there are actually "lists" of the best "existentialist" films ever made, and they include titles like the Matrix...! Also confusing because, if you think about it, every love story ever written or filmed has existentialist underpinnings, so upon reflection I think calling this particular film "existentialist" is a red herring. So back to Upside Down. It is extraordinary, The concept is unique, something that cannot be said of 99.9% of the scripts today, and the cinematography is both breath-taking and haunting. It also comes close to being one of the greatest love stories of all time, and here it is the "almost" that is telling ... now in my view, the greatest love story ever filmed is HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (the original, not the two remakes). There is a particular scene that takes place during a temporary power outage which is literally unforgettable, if you have ever seen the film. And if you have not, you should. The scene is less than two minutes in total but movie-goers who saw the film 70 years ago (!) can discuss that specific scene with you as if it were yesterday. It is literally burned into their memory. Not a claim many movies can make today. Which brings us back to Upside Down, a classic case of "almost" film-making. For the first hour of this picture, you have a unique one-of--a-kind movie that is on par with the best of the best ever made. It meets or exceeds all known standards for original script, original story, original cinematography, etc. And, then, about 70 minutes in, it is as if the producer either ran out of money, or the writer ran out of coffee. Or both. And morphs not only into one of the most disappointing endings I have ever seen but -- an odd form of hubris -- the voice-over first-person narration actually apologizes to the viewer for this in plain English, saying, I am not making this up, that "what happens next is a story for another time," ...I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that to recommend a movie where we know in advance that the last 20 minutes sucks, the first 70 minutes would have to be extra-ordinary to compensate....? And that is the point. They are. Amazing film. Highly recommended. A must-see.

Upside Down creates a fascinating universe beyond our imagination. It is so amazing, it could have been something groundbreaking. The story is a romance that is suppose to defy gravity. It starts with a great promise and many imaginative ideas were featured. Unfortunately, the journey suffers incoherence and leaves several unsettled details. It tries to tell a deeper meaning about love but none of it worked because of its terribly underdeveloped plot and awful romance. It could have at least given some sense to their love but it doesn't provide much exploration to their relationship. The visuals are undeniably breathtaking but the plot gets the opposite which results a story that fails to be compelling.

The idea is wonderful. Who could imagine a world like that? It may be scientifically unbelievable but it doesn't matter. As long as it has a substantial story. Sadly, that story is unable to achieve its message. Even if it's quite gripping, the film calls for something better. The central plot is about a man who risks everything to get his love back. The first and second act really shows a lot of intrigue to the premise but falters when it goes through the rest. The biggest problem is probably the romance. It is poorly portrayed. It's hard to understand why do they love each other. Yeah, they had a childhood together and they are good looking but what else? That's almost the only thing we knew about them because every time when it stumbles to their relationship, it becomes a montage of inaudible chatter thus never really get to know them more. Even the talents couldn't save their love. Jim Sturgess is always charming as a lover boy. He gets a lot of things to do in most vital parts but only did little to the romance. Same goes to Kristen Dunst, except she is mostly underused. In other cast, Timothy Spall appears as an older version of cliché best friend roles in romantic comedies.

It also leaves some unanswered questions in the end but that ending chooses forget almost everything from those questions. Despite of the story's inconsistency, the visuals are the landmark here. It is a brilliantly designed world that can be both trippy and fascinating. Mashing several styles like steampunk and typical futuristic details. Much magnificent is when it take turns between the aspects of the two worlds. There are two sequences that can be goosebumps worthy. These portraits are so gorgeous, it is best to see in cinema. It would still be worth watching if you're one of those people who doesn't care about the story even if its flaws are inevitable, but it still deserves something better.

Upside Down is visually breathtaking but it didn't go beyond that. The romance is beyond bland and it spends most of the time doing stuff that achieved so little to the plot. When I said the romance is beyond bland I mean it has no personality, no depth, no meaning. It's pretty vague. This likely proves that even the most stunning visuals cannot bring justice to a problematic story. It's disappointing because it wastes the potential of the visuals and the first half. Instead of being compelling, it rather shows how beautiful the two's relationship is with a grand scale universe in the background. Aside of the love story, the context between the two worlds are intriguing but there is nothing else about it besides of what it was explained which it isn't enough. It still has its merits. In a nutshell, the film itself is like the two worlds. The visuals are on the top, and the rest are on the bottom. Make sense?

The romantic/ fantasy/ sci-fi movie is set in an alternate universe where the protagonists' planet is subject to a unique phenomena called dual gravity. There are two distinct societies; one living 'Down Below', a poor slum-like area, and another living 'Up Above', rich, prosperous city-like area. These worlds are connected via a building from a corporate giant 'TransWorld'. Matter from Up Above and matter from Down Below are affected by opposite gravitational forces. People from one society can look up and see beyond the clouds to see the other world. The story is about Adam, an orphan from Down Below, who has been meeting with Eden from Up Above in secret trysts since childhood. This is strictly forbidden in their worlds and authorities respond to one such meeting using guns which result in Eden falling down (up?) to her apparent death. Adam also loses his surviving relative because of this incident.

Years later, he catches a glimpse of Eden in a TV channel and learns that she is alive. He concocts a plan to meet up with her by joining TransWorld and sneaking visits Up Above. He does this by attaching heavy metals from Up Above to his body - allowing him to counter his natural gravitational pull and walking upside down (which would be right side up in Up Above). He learns that Eden has lost her memory after her fall, and he tries to get her to remember him.

The movie is spectacular. The visual effects of the other world 'Up Above', especially the outdoor scenes, are beautifully rendered. The indoor sequences are also masterfully crafted - seamlessly integrating Up Above and Down Below in the same frames. It can be a bit distracting as we are not used to such visuals, but it is undoubtedly unique.

However, the movie calls for a very specific audience - You have to have a basic understanding/ appreciation of the science of gravity or you may not follow some of the narration, but at the same time, you can't be too involved in science, or you may be hung up on how ridiculous the explanations provided are. They try to explain the dual gravity rules by saying that these are two planets which are perfectly in sync with one another. Simply put - gravity does NOT work that way. Planets are not selective about which matter they exert gravity on. Also, there's a case of selective scaling - The worlds are sometimes close enough to fall from one to the other in a matter of seconds; but at the same time are far enough to accommodate entire mountains. Also, this world has climate - clouds and rain that just do not make sense in the context of the given scenarios. You have to like Science, but be willing to overlook errors of such basic nature. Overall, it is an experiment in showing an impossible world in a unique setting. In this, they succeed.