Come Swim (2017) User Reviews

Breathtaking

[shellsmorton · 10/10 · 17 February 2018]

This short film was far more than I had expected. To me, this film wasn't about telling a traditional story as much as it was about telling an emotional journey. The man in the film is "swallowed" by his sea of emotions, and he evolves through these emotions; as a viewer I could feel the anxiety and depression that he was going through and then his attempts to pull himself out. The shots, the editing, and the sound sucks the viewer into this man's world. As a person who has dealt with anxiety and depression, I can say these are captured perfectly in the film. It is a stunning piece of art.

Obvious filmmaking

[speciesofspacesproductions · 3/10 · 21 February 2017]

Decent visuals, but what do you expect from a HUGE budget and world class crew who can pull off anything? Kristen had everything she needed at her disposal. This is not the same for 99% of short filmmakers.

Given that, its a shame the story was flat. Ideas are what counts. It was Too blatant. Too obvious. Hope she continues though as I do like her.

Poetry in motion

[sevenchimera · 9/10 · 13 November 2017]

Drying out and parched yet drowning. Awake in a nightmare or living a waking dream. Vivid yet beyond tangible. The voice inside his head taunting him of memories of love lost. He's trudging toward the ocean despite his hatred for water. Drowning when all he wants is to float. Sparse yet defeaning silent moments in the midst of palpable disquieting internal chatter. We see him and what he sees. Opens with a big wave and ends in still water.

Visually stunning. Intense sound design. Good editing (but with some intentional judder?). Haunting soundtrack. Great first film. Can't wait for Kristen Stewart's next directorial effort.

Master piece

[karolguerrero · 10/10 · 28 June 2019]

It's so easy to relate. I can't believe what I just saw. Worth every single minute

It will make you feel

[angelovmariana · 9/10 · 27 May 2018]

I liked this short film very much. There is not much storyline. It is about a guy going through a hardship, a separation or a loss, it does not matter, but the feelings that this film triggers are everwhelming. I must admit I watched it twice. The first time I was kind of overthinking everthing, which I think blocked my senses and I missed out a lot. The second time i just went with the flow of the movie and let my senses absorb the images and omg I had goosebumps. Every image touched a different nerve, which resulted in a myriad of feelings all coming along at the same time. Totally worth watching only for this experience.

The directing is impressive, it takes some guts and creativity to show such a strong pain so realistically and at the same time unconventionally. Beautiful mind. I can not wait to see other movies directed by Kristen Stewart and I hope she will do a lot. I also hope to see Josh Kaye in other movies. He is a natural and does a freaking great job in portraying the main character. I totally believed in his pain.

The visuals are stunning and stirring. Some images keep appearing out of nowehere in my mind: The wave, this big scary wave that is about to crash and something terrible to happen, and then the crash under water, strangely beautiful and peacefull (I can not imagine how they filmed this, it must have been a lot of fun); The changeup when the main character sits in his room room and appears in suddenly his car which is under water, not understanding where he is, what the hell happened (Amazing shot). In less than a second this shot made me relive the feeling of being utterly lost when I was at my deepest down; The image when he is trying to reach the water, crawling, almost dead, but still trying. (... I went jogging, jogging was my salvation, I was desperately trying to keep jogging although I felt like I had a stone in my stomach and wanted to throw up.)

All in all, I totally recommend this short, although it is about a hardship, I do think it is quite optimistic.