Guillermo del Toro’s new film about a monster, THE SHAPE OF WATER has won the Golden Lion, the top award at the 74th Venice Film Festival. The jury, headed by American actor Annette Bening, chose the film ahead of contenders such as Alexander Payne’s DOWNSIZING and George Clooney’s SUBURBICON.
The critical reception for the film has led many to describe the movie as the director’s best since 2006’s PAN’S LABYRINTH. The story concerns the mute Elisa (Sally Hawkins) who works as a cleaner in a high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes when she discovers the lab’s classified secret–a mysterious, scaled creature from South America that lives in a water tank. As Elisa develops a unique bond with the creature, she learns that its fate lies in the hands of a hostile government agent and a marine biologist.
The romantic fantasy is written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor. It also stars Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. The movie will premiere in Australia in January 2018. Until then, enjoy the trailer below.
