'The Shape Of Water' Trailer: Love Has No Limits

Guillermo del Toro is taking a year long break from directing, but he’s leaving us with a gem to treasure in “The Shape Of Water.” And as he tells Collider, part of the reason he’s taking a breather is to savor the moment with his latest film, which is arguably the best work of his career.

“I felt ‘The Shape of Water’ needed a good six months of undivided attention, to find an audience and to enjoy it, as a human being that made something I’m proud of and happy with,” del Toro explained. “It’s happened to me, in the past. In 2001, with ‘The Devil’s Backbone,’ which is my second favorite movie I’ve ever done, I was doing ‘Blade 2.’ ‘Shape’ is the first, and then ‘Devil’s,’ and then ‘Pan’s [Labyrinth].’ When ‘Devil’s Backbone’ was touring, I was busy in post-production on ‘Blade 2,’ and it shouldn’t happen like that. I was so proud of that movie, and I didn’t enjoy it and I didn’t maximize my time with it. Movies are like children. They grow up and they leave you, and they don’t come back home. They go to university and don’t call. So, I wanted to travel with ‘Shape of Water.’ ”

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Starring Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Doug Jones, “The Shape Of Water” is a fairy tale-thriller-romance about a mute woman who falls in love with a merman. Seriously, and it might be the most beautiful love story you’ll see on the big screen all year (with “Call Me By Your Name” running pretty damn near close). Here’s the official synopsis:

From master story teller, Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER – an other-worldly fable, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962.  In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation.  Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.

“The Shape Of Water” opens on December 1st.