A Reflection on: "The Shape of Water"

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[A minimum of two x 200 word reflections on critically acclaimed films (#2) ]

The Shape of Water film poster

The Shape of Water (2017, dir. Guillermo Del Toro) is the 2018 Oscar winning film for Best Picture. Being an avid Del Toro fan, I instantly knew I'd be straight to see TSOW. Del Toro has a method of unshackling himself from the limits of reality, ever adjusting the rules of what can and cannot be done with moving image. Renowned for his worlds of fantasy, The Shape of Water was undoubtedly deserving of the Best Picture Oscar.

I've always been slightly hesitant about the idea of working on films in the style of Del Toro's. Like Miyazaki, he isn't afraid of boundaries, and whilst I admire and gain inspiration from this, I've always felt too afraid to do this myself. However, I've readjusted my thoughts on this after watching TSOW, leaving myself eager to become surrounded by filmmakers with a similar thought process and inspiration to mine. Fantasy in both animation and real moving image has always been a love of mine, and after seeing how high a production value look TSOW has, I've been re-inspired to dive into this subject of filmmaking. I will be aiming to create a film with more of a fantasy feel, either in my final year, or at the very least, in my free time.

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