Guillermo del Toro remembers what ART is

Rating: 7/10 (31 January 2018)

There are all sorts of different movies going on in cinemas: documentaries, true stories, thrillers, detectives, dramas, fairytales, animation, etc.. What genre would you characterize The Shape of Water to be? I would say it's a work of art.
Most of the things we watch lately are "based on a true story" and as helpful and educational as it is, it defeats the purpose of art. Art is about expanding your imagination, going above your limits. Exploring ideas that are unreal but yet create real emotions and reactions.
I have seen decent amount of movies and one thing that will make me always appreciate the work is the artistic side of it. How innovative was the technique director used? How were the scenes shot? What angle did the camera men take?
The story itself plays certain role - it's the main idea that the whole movie is circled around, but HOW you tell a story is equally if not more important for a storyteller. Think about it in a conventional way - we all have friends who can tell the most boring story with enthusiasm and make people laugh, while others can bore you even while talking about intriguing concepts. Same happens with cinematography - talent to tell a story is what cinematography is about, if we look at it at it's very origin.
For that, I have to say that Guillermo del Toro remembers what is ART, it's purpose and tricks of great storytelling.
I don't want to go into a deep analyse of the movie as it was not made to be thought through million times. It was made to be watched and enjoyed as you watch it. If I were to judge HOW it's made I'd give it a firm 10. The story itself is where I lost 3 points. The story is not original, "Beauty and the Beast" variation with more hardcore characters and grimy dark turns along the way that give this green movie a beautiful red contrast (the movie is shot in green-ish tones with a lot of blood in scenes)
It definitely triggers some questions about our tolerance to each other. Where do we really draw the line between human and inhuman. How and WHY do we get to decide what lives and what dies?
So if you really want some food for your brain, you can find it as well. But I wouldn't recommend taking this movie too deep. Guillermo did an incredible job on creating this beautiful world, that you can watch 2 or 3 times and still don't catch all the details of, so, for the art's sake, dive in with open eyes and ears, take in the whole experience and breath out when you leave the theater. It's quite a magical journey.