The Shape of Water

An utterly unique and bizarre retro-futuristic fantasy, an original mix of childish naivety, teenage infatuation and adult sexuality, combined with occasional brutality. Michael Shannon and his black fingers are so over-the-top. I get the Oscars, it's "something different" than what’s usual in the film medium, but I didn’t get a proper film experience. (05/03/2018)

Set design great, nicely shot, a beautiful creature... and then there’s the rest of it. Messy and flaccid, of questionable artistic value, quietly loud, stereotypical – like it's all set in some artificial town full of robots playing humans. And yet they are all completely horny. I don't understand the Oscars (except for the sets), but neither do a lot of other people, so it's okay. 50%. (18/03/2018)

A beautiful cinematic caress that delighted me both with a beautifully told sci-fi story from a time when there was no need to overwhelm the viewer with special effects, and with a creative stylistic hand that manages to upgrade the story effortlessly to the demands of modern audiences. Weak on the emotions and with a slightly overwrought script, but excellent actors and top-notch direction referring to the film formulas of the fifties. (15/02/2018)

A loose sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s beloved classic Creature from the Black Lagoon with a subtle retro look and a unique and, I’d dare say, beautiful monster. It cannot be compared to Pan’s Labyrinth, as the older movie was more surreal, cruel, sad and less Hollywoodish. The Shape of Water is a charming American genre movie with a simple, even predictable premise, but created with love and with a load of lovely references for movie geeks. "Beauty and the Beast" meets "Romeo & Juliet". A fairy tale for adults in which the heroine no longer reads a fantasy book but masturbates in the bath. Given that it was made by Guillermo, there is a relative lack of of blood and violence. We get to see a black woman, a gay, a Trump-like American general and a secret Russian scientist with his heart in the right place. All decently written and directed, with everything is as it should be, though the runtime is slightly too long. One hundred minutes would have been ideal. (27/09/2017)

Carefully, I expected a mysterious fairytale, into which Guillermo del Toro would pour in a smaller amount, in the best case scenario, and a larger amount, in the worst case scenario, of depression, the main character of his Pan's Labyrinth. However, everything is different, and instead, I am getting a retro version of Splash! for eighteen and older narrated by Richard Jenkins. Among the participating actors, Michael Shannon is the one who stands out the most, although he sells his traditionally wild and scruffy face as much as he can, his storyline as an ultra-negative agent falls somewhat deaf due to unsuccessful family/marital scenes. I perceive that the beauty and the beast are given the main focus, surprisingly at the expense of the development of other characters' storylines but still, this thoroughly captivating spectacle is very likable to me in terms of genre. It is narrated innocently and honestly, and does not try to be anything it is not even for a moment. (24/02/2018)