The Shape Of Water [Blu-ray]

Worth watching...

This is (so far) Mr. Del Toro's masterpiece... it's such a beautiful triumph of love!!

Classic

Awesome movie.

Polarizing. I've seen some reviews comparing this to Beauty and the Beast. Hmm - if you go to this movie expected a childish movie experience, or that the director or cast is going pull back to pacify your sensitivities, you will be disappointed. This is NOT a movie for children, it is NOT cutesy or weak. If you want cutesy, there are tons of projects out there that will meet your needs.So - let's look at THIS movie.What is love? We open with a study of a lonely woman, living a life of quiet desperation? Her routine is the same, get up, boil eggs, masturbate - [though contrary to many of the reviews - this latter is shown only as her with a leg out of the bathtub]. Of interest within the overall context of the movie is boiling eggs. [After all, it is the Shape of Water].We see this opening scene twice and it establishes who our main character is. She has an interesting apartment. Her neighbor has been discarded by a system he wants back into, and she is a janitress at some government facility.No, the government is not painted as "your friend" - the conversation between the "bad guy" and his boss shows exactly how "the government" thinks of it's people.It's a BIG movie - it brings in pieces and parts of our communal past - in ways that are not flattering. That is true. Our main character is plainish... not drop dead gorgeous but she has HEART and this is, at it's core a movie about HEART and the things we value.The "bad guy" is interesting, in a train wreck kind of way. He has gotten to where he is [where ever that is] by unswerving devotion and fanatical pursuit of doing what is asked of him. And by doing so, has achieved his version of the American dream.There are several key players, Bob, Zelda... her neighbor and in an odd way, the Creature.We are told it is "him" but that is not apparent. Yes, I was totally put in mind of Abe Sapien crossed with the Creature from the Black Lagoon [sidebar - in the CftBL, the Creature is after the woman - is is cause she is crunchy and tastes better or something else? In this movie, the chaser is the woman]OK - so what is this anyhow? An examination of the relationships in our lives and weighing out - what is really important. If you hang up on the "sex" - spoiler alert...she gets naked -you can see her bottom!you can see her top! and then....they hug]We are presented with a dichotomy in the relationships of our protagonist and those of the antagonist and how they treat and are treated by those around them.As you can tell, this can go on and on. That said, there are some scenes that are hard to take yet each moves the movie - the sandpile and the cat.One from ignorance, one from fear.Our primary characters are the woman, her antagonist [hereafter known as the stinky guy] and to a slightly lesser degree, her friends.The stinky guy, though drawn with a broad, black brush still turns in a slightly nuanced performance. In the midst of serving his masters at the cost of his soul, reading a self -help book. We are forced to ask - if he truly believed in the life he is leading, what purpose does this book serve? Are there flickerings of conscience bubbling up? But these are hints and images seen through a glass darkly.This is not a movie for everyone. It is uncomfortable in many ways and unflinching in it's depiction of events. When lesser films would have pulled back to preserve our illusions, this one does not. This film is dense and packed with allegorical imagery. It walks the line between too much and just enough. It tiptoes up to slapstick but then shines a "and this is what actually happened" light on the scene. Is it perfect? Hmm... it's really very very good [what I thought was the weakest scene is probably not what you thought :)].As Creature from the Black Lagoon reflected the sensitivities of the time, this film, based in OUR zeitgeist, looking back on that Golden Age reflects a different reality. Our heroine, plain though she may be, still has adult desires which are not met as most men [with one exception] can't see past her muteness to the person within. She is lonely and shares her loneliness with her neighbor who is also alien in 1962.At heart this is perhaps an exploration of different and how different fits together to form the quilt of reality. The general is different, Bob is different, the lab boss [what was his name again?] is different.Is the creature a god? Was everything that happened part of some larger design? Where did the woman come from? What is up with her scars?If you feel that a good film presents questions in an interesting way and encourages us to look for answers, you will probably like this film. If you feel that the purpose of a film to reaffirm only those aspects of life you feel are of value, you probably will not. There is enough ambiguity in key areas to let you fill in the blanks. And it is what YOU fill those blanks in with that will determine whether you like or dislike this movie.

There are many ways to tell a truth. It can be directly, through symbolism, or simply from satire. The cinema, in its narrative omnipotence, appropriated them and has played to mix them in all possible ways. From great directors we have seen a few good combinations, and one of them is, without a doubt, Guillermo del Toro.In 2006 we were surprised by del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno), a fable set in midst of the Spanish Civil War. Twelve years later, the Mexican director is back in form, this time with The Shape of Water (La Forma del Agua). The film may very well be this year's best, but not only due to the Academy's 13 nominations.This fable, although with suspicious similarities in his narrative technique with Pan's Labyrinth as the two share a similar "structural formula", makes you fall in love and invites you to reflect upon its extraordinary script and cast. Of the latter stand out Sally Hawkin, Olivia Spencer, Richard Jenkins and the wonderful Doug Jones, the man behind the "creature".Things from this world have a common place, an "aleph", a space/time where they gather and be one and all at the same time. The history of the United States in the sixties. The Cold War, the not-so "cold wars": the struggles for civil rights, the unstoppable technological innovation, the entertainment industry, the American dream... that being the case, Guillermo del Toro could not find better setting for The Shape of Water."Silence" has a strong symbolism in this film as those who literally cannot speak are the two main characters: a mute woman (Elisa) and an non-speaking aquatic creature that fall in love. Little by little it is revealed that their friends (a black woman, a gay man and a scientist tied to ideological commitments) are also mute in a society that does not accept them.Elisa elegantly sums up all the others "good" characters, but del Toro takes her further and turns her into the hero of the story, one with no power other than the will to smash her loneliness. The silence remains in the film as a child of loneliness and not as an evil in itself.The monsters of Guillermo de Toro always have something interesting to say, especially this one, although it cannot speak. The Shape of Water are not only two hours of pure joy and entertainment, but an opportunity to immerse oneself in our thoughts through its symbolism. The word "immerse" has probably never been better used.

I’ve heard so many people — both media pundits and personal friends — refer to this dismissively as “the fish-f***ing movie”. And then I wonder, how many of them have actually watched it all the way through? Because it is so much more than that! It is a modern take on an archetypal water-god myth, with allusions to the Biblical story of Moses and the ancient Middle Eastern legends of Oannes; it is a new interpretation of “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” with a sympathetic view of the creature; it is a poignant meditation on the loneliness of being an outsider; and it is all brought together by Guillermo del Toro’s visually stunning magical realism.If you watch it solely for the shock value —expecting to see explicit creature-on-human sex scenes — then you’re missing the point. (And you’ll be disappointed anyway, as that notorious scene is actually a beautifully filmed, tasteful and fantastical celebration of abundant life and a love that transcends words.)In truth, “The Shape of Water” is a richly imaginative modern fable, with a message common to many thought-provoking films, but few that express it so eloquently: We are all outsiders in our own way, each of us looking for a kindred spirit to share our loneliness and give it meaning, no matter how great the cost.