Cinephiles will adore this overwhelming ode to films and genres from yesteryear: silent era acting; the tension of Cold War thrillers; intense romance; but above all B-movies, primarily the monster film The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Deaf-mute Elisa is a cleaner at an army bunker where all sorts of mysterious research is conducted. When an amphibian-like creature is brought in, she is the only one who doesn’t see an object to torture and study, but a beast of flesh and blood she could even fall in love with.
“Maybe we’re both just relics”, exclaims Elise’s neighbour Giles, but the opposite proves true in Guillermo del Toro’s film noir fairy tale that won the Golden Lion in Venice. In early 1960s America, independent Elisa and closet homosexual Giles are ahead of their time. It is precisely this political undertone that lends Del Toro’s magic-realist romance additional weight.
Nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, among which Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Sally Hawkins) and Best Achievement in Directing. Winner of a Golden Globe for Best Director – Motion Picture and Best Original Score – Motion Picture.
Film details
- Country of production
- USA
- Year
- 2017
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2018
- Length
- 123'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
