The Shape of Water (2017)

Directed by

Guillermo del Toro

Genre

drama film, fantasy film, romance film, melodrama, thriller film, magic realist film

Country

Mexico, United States

Runtime

2h 03m

Rated

R

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 12,920 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In 1962 Baltimore, a mute woman who works as a cleaner at a secret government lab bonds with a captive amphibious creature. She falls in love with him and plans to help him escape before a cruel colonel can kill him.

romanticdarkfantasticaldreamliketendersuspensefullyricalintimate

What happens

The Shape of Water is a 2017 period romantic dark fantasy film directed and produced by Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote the screenplay with Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, and inspired by Creature from the Black Lagoon, the film follows a mute cleaner at a high-security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured humanoid amphibian creature and decides to help him escape from death at the hands of an evil colonel. Filming took place on location in Ontario, Canada, from August to November 2016. The Shape of Water was screened as part of the main competition in the 74th Venice International Film Festival, where it premiered on August 31, 2017, and was awarded the Golden Lion. It was also screened at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It began a limited release in two theaters in New York City on December 1, 2017, before expanding wide on December 22, and grossed $195 million worldwide. The Shape of Water was widely acclaimed by critics, who lauded its acting, screenplay, direction, visuals, production design, cinematography, and musical score. The American Film Institute selected it as one of the top ten films of 2017. The film was nominated for a leading thirteen awards at the 90th Academy Awards, winning four, including Best Picture and Best Director, and received numerous other accolades; it was the second fantasy film to win Best Picture, after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). A novelization by del Toro and Daniel Kraus was published on March 6, 2018. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
• The Exterminating Angel (1962)
• Everybody Loves Somebody (2017)
• Roma (2018)
• Coco (2017)
• Nightmare Alley (2021)
• El que busca encuentra (2017)
• The Devil's Backbone (2001)