Drama · Fantasy · Romance
American
2017 · Directed by Guillermo del Toro · 123 min
Baltimore, 1962. Elisa, a mute cleaner at a secret government laboratory, becomes drawn to the strange asset the facility has locked away. A fairy tale for adults, built from monster movies, musicals and Cold War paranoia.
Why it matters in cinema history
A late example of the monster film's long move from menace to sympathy, running from Frankenstein and King Kong through to modern fantasy. It also shows the Oscars rewarding genre cinema at the top level.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a fairy tale told through images, where colour, water and music say what the characters cannot.
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