Guillermo Del Toro’s Shape of Water was up for 13 Oscar nominations and comes out on top with 4 wins, including: Best Director and Best Picture!
Minorities in Hollywood are becoming more prominent figures and given more opportunities than were given in its Golden Age. Rightly so too since some of the most innovative and important directors of the 21st century are from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds. In actuality, The Hispanic filmmaking community in the industry has continued to broaden its presence and produce exceptional talent. These talented artists include: Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Guillermo del Toro. These three directors all contribute to a positive outlook of the Hispanic community and create pictures that have a signature style and plot that deviate from typical Hollywood films.
The most recent of these directors to yet again reinforce his presence in the filmmaking community, is the fantastical Guillermo del Toro.
Guillermo del Toro offers Hollywood a refreshing taste in the way that he directs films. His films envelop a modern outlook into the use of magical realism and are what separate his style from other contemporary filmmakers. Shape of Water (2017) is nominated for 13 Academy Awards and for good reason too.
The movie tells the love story of two outsiders, a mute woman and a captive sea creature. At first glance, the movie’s plot could be regarded as extremely bizarre, but Guillermo del Toro is able to pull it off because of how he romanticizes the situation with beautiful visuals as well as a captivating storyline.
The movie was very enjoyable because of a signature trait in Del Toro’s films. He contrasts extreme violence with lighthearted events and comedy in his movies in order to create a heartwarming atmosphere in the movie. Like in his very successful and acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), the movie has a strong female character who is regarded as strange by her peers, but still manages to captivate the emotions of the audience through her charm. Then you have her antithesis with a very cruel and powerful man. These two characters are what give Del Toro’s movies a classical feeling of good vs evil, a theme that is prominent in fairytales that he would adore as a child.
Guillermo del Toro gives his movies a very personal feel since of his experiences as a child. He adored fairy tales and constantly fought against his heavily religious family (who funnily enough even took him to get exorcised with holy water). Many of his great works are inspired by his love for folktales and legends, which can be stated that he never lost his over. In fact, Del Toro even presented Shape of Water as a film that sprouted from his youth experiences. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he even comments that all nine films he’s directed were “adult rephrasings” of his childhood.
Shape of Water won a Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Drama earlier this year, giving Guillermo del Toro even more recognition as one of the best filmmakers of the time.
