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THR Interview: Kristen Stewart on 'Come Swim' Short Film, "It's Not Quite Done" Cannes 2017

posted 8 years ago by LLOwens (983)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DF-j4tDutY

I'm impressed by her thoughts with regard to her directorial/screenwriting debut Come Swim in this recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. For example she mentions how she pulled all the dialogue, memory (flashbacks) and voice overs together in such an unconventional, yet in my opinion, satisfying way which indicates that she understands what it takes to make a great film in that she avoids film cliches by using images and dialogue that mean a lot more than what they appear to be on the surface which in effect gives viewers a satisfying ending that they'd least expect and that less is more, show don't tell and actions speak louder than words--which are some of the keys to creating a great film. And it wasn't as if she didn't spend much time and thought writing dialogue in the form of poems about heartbreak for this film--yet despite this she decided to express her vision primarily through visual means rather than verbally, which is much more difficult to do properly--sure glad Kristen didn't do a talking heads short film. And here's the thing, even if the star of her film doesn't rely on excess verbiage to get his point and the backstory across to the viewer, it will still be clearly evident if properly expressed and executed by a capable director by means of clever use of abstract symbolism and imagery. In another interview she mentioned how she, "wanted to externalize a literally internal thought process." She also referred to fixating on one image and expound upon it, which is what true artists do. And ultimately, she makes the viewer empathize with the protagonist's plight while rejoicing when he finally breaks free from his chains by quenching his formerly insatiable thirst--for without doing so, this short would have fallen flat on its face. So bravo to Kristen!

[–] LLOwens (983) 8 years ago

Robbie Collin, film critic for The Telegraph, gives Come Swim four stars out of five: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/kristen-stewarts-debut-short-come-swim-screens-cannes-2017/

Kristen Stewart's debut
short Come Swim screens at
Cannes 2017 - and it's no
ordinary first film

It’s an earnest, sombre, often unsubtle work – but it’s also disciplined, sharply coherent, and cine-literate in an old-fashioned surrealist way. And its commitment to its own weirdness itself feels bold, given its director’s profile as a young actress (who got her break in a vampire romance franchise, no less!) who’s dared to stray to the far side of the camera. In other words, it would be an easy film to mock.

Easy, but wrong. Come Swim is significantly better than some of the ill-advised actor-directed projects the festival has programmed recently – perhaps, you sometimes wonder, as a prank (step forward Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn). Cannes has spent the last five years nurturing Stewart as a world cinema star to be reckoned with, and that plan came off: in 2015, she became the first American to win a César from the French Académie. So if they now also want to give her a platform as a filmmaker, more power to them, and her.

Cynics may scoff that anyone with Stewart’s budget and calibre of crew could have made a good film. But even just a second’s reflection throws up countless examples where they didn’t. (Again, hello Gosling and Penn.) The truth is, she has something – and when there's something more, Cannes will no doubt make room.

What a year it has been for Kristen so far in 2017--receiving rave reviews for both her acting and her directing.

[–] Ron2011 (908) 8 years ago

"In another interview she mentioned how she, "wanted to externalize a literally internal thought process." She also referred to fixating on one image and expound upon it, which is what true artists do. And ultimately, she makes the viewer empathize with the protagonist's plight while rejoicing when he finally breaks free from his chains by quenching his formerly insatiable thirst--for without doing so, this short would have fallen flat on its face. So bravo to Kristen!"

Like I've already been thinking, it'll be interesting to see what Kristen's ideas are in directing, and what directions she goes in. This is something completely new for her and given her style of challenging and getting into the depth of human feelings, emotions and interactions, she isn't likely to be "following the herd" very often in the work she does.

[–] LLOwens (983) 8 years ago

This is something completely new for her and given her style of challenging and getting into the depth of human feelings, emotions and interactions, she isn't likely to be "following the herd" very often in the work she does.

This is why I'm amazed by Kristen's vision and the manner in which she chose to present this short film--writing and directing it from the exclusive point of view of the protagonist which is one of the most difficult things to get right when it comes to filmmaking--yet when done right it can also be very rewarding in the sense that the audience will be able to develop an emotional involvement with the main character and empathize with him when the storyline is shaped from the protagonist's POV.

Her directorial debut wasn't her simply going through the motions and getting her feet wet, but demonstrated she went all in and dived head first into this project. Just as she chose challenging roles even as a budding actress, she appears to be doing similarly with directing by attempting to tackle one of the most, if not most difficult way to tell a story.

Speaking of not "following the herd", her next short film will be about the highly controversial topic of gun control, which I'm hoping with also be told from the protagonist's point of view.

And this also applies to her unconventional way of making a fashion statement on the Cannes red carpet as she was recognized as: "CANNES BEST-DRESSED OF THE DAY: KRISTEN STEWART'S DARING NEO-GODDESS LOOK": http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kristen-stewart-chanel-at-2017-cannes-film-festival-1006315