The Chronology of Water

Kirsten Stewart's bold directorial debut, which had its première in the Un Certain Regard section, was received by Cannes with ovations. The Chronology of Water is a complete immersion in extreme experiences, a cinematic ride off the rails, a work about nightmarish childhood, youthful self-destruction, and the salvation that swimming and writing can provide for the protagonist. At the centre of The Chronology... is the female body; through it Lidia (the striking Imogen Poots) experiences joy and pain, with it she experiments, from it she flees, she trains it, disciplines it, neglects it, from it she draws all her strength. When we meet her, she is still a girl, followed step by step (and desired) by the paternal gaze. This impressive, bone-chilling adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's autobiographical book brilliantly translates words into images, shreds unwanted memories, gives free rein to fantasy, loses and regains control, muddies and churns the water, but with the determination of the finest swimmer, glides forward with assured strokes. This story begins like a tsunami, a wave that destroys houses and people, but the shape of the water, and with it the emotional temperature, tempo and rhythm of The Chronology..., change from chapter to chapter.