'The Shape of Water' Clip: Sally Hawkins Discovers A Merman

Guillermo del Toro‘s magical fairy tale “The Shape of Water” brings the fantasy we’ve come to expect from the director coupled with a powerful emotional surge. Our review out of Venice declares, “It’s a film that makes you feel a lot. But overridingly you feel lucky — lucky to be watching it, lucky that something so sincerely sweet, sorrowfully scary and surpassingly strange can exist in this un-wonderful world.” Needless to say, this is a must-see movie.

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The film is led by Sally Hawkins, who plays a mute woman who falls in love with a merman. Yes, really. And with Oscar winner Octavia Spencer cast as Elisa’s coworker and Oscar nominated Michael Shannon playing a less than compassionate scientist, del Toro has put together an ultra talented cast. Even more, he hopes his picture can address the current state of the world find ourselves in. Here’s his director’s statement:

SEE ALSO: First Trailer For Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘The Shape Of Water’

Fairy tales were born in times of trouble, in complicated times—when hope felt lost. I made The Shape of Water as an antidote to cynicism. For it seems to me that when we speak of love—when we believe in love—we do so in a hopeless way. We fear looking naïve and even disingenuous. But Love is real—absolutely real—and, like water, it is the most gentle and most powerful force in the Universe. It is free and formless until it pours into its recipient, until we let it in. Our eyes are blind. But our soul is not. It recognizes love in whatever shape it comes to us.

Fox Searchlight plans to introduce you to the enticing reverie of “The Shape of Water” in theaters on December 8th.