Kristen Stewart's directorial debut, 'The Chronology of Water,' is an uncompromising, impressionistic arthouse film adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir, exploring themes of pain, loss, memory, and female desire. Starring Imogen Poots, it's described as a 'punk rock arthouse movie' that challenges conventional storytelling and tackles 'heavy shit' often ignored in cinema.
Kristen Stewart's raw and unapologetic directorial debut, 'The Chronology of Water,' is making waves at film festivals. Adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch's experimental memoir, the film is an impressionistic, arthouse collage exploring profound themes of pain, loss, the elusive nature of memory, and the reclamation of desire from a distinctly female perspective. Stewart, known for her ferocious vocabulary and invigorating presence, describes the film as 'genuine' and 'not lying,' embracing even confused reactions like 'The Chronology of what the fuck did I just watch?' Stewart was fiercely adamant about directing the film after reading the book in 2018, feeling a deep, physical connection to Yuknavitch's exploration of 'trespass' and desires carved into the female body. She saw it as an opportunity to take the 'muzzle off' and give voice to experiences often 'belittled' when coming from women, challenging the male-dominated literary and cinematic canon. Financing the film was a significant hurdle, taking eight years of development. Stewart admits it was a 'tough sell,' often reduced to themes of 'incest and rape' rather than its true essence: 'the gouging out of desire, and the reframing of that, and how empowered that is.' Despite discouragement, even from her own producer, Stewart persevered, eventually shooting mostly in Latvia. The film stars Imogen Poots as Lidia, delivering an immense and exposing performance in a role that pulses with sex, drugs, violence, bleeding, sobbing, and grief. Stewart's loyalty to Poots was unwavering, stating, 'She's my favourite actor, and everyone else sucked.' The cast also includes Kim Gordon, Thora Birch (playing Lidia's sister, Claudia), and Jim Belushi, who joined after other actors dropped out, bringing a 'radical' and 'hippy' energy. Rejecting conventional narrative structure, the film is a collection of 'fluids and fragments' where male actors come and go, serving Lidia's story rather than their own. Thora Birch, who shares a common language with Stewart due to their shared experience of child stardom, praises Stewart's ability to direct and her choice to tell a story 'emblematic of a female experience that not a lot of people are ready, willing or even able to dissect and talk about,' calling it a 'punk rock arthouse movie that is like a non-psychedelic ayahuasca trip.' 'The Chronology of Water' is a bold and experimental work that is unequivocally 'a very Kristen Stewart movie,' set to challenge and provoke audiences.
