What a beautiful film. It reminded me of earlyish (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children, Amelie - though that last probably doesn't really count as early any more) Jeunet, especially the opening voiceover-narrated scene and the establishing ones that follow, in its shadowy green-hued palette, fairytale notes and overall structure, and mixing of whimsy, wonder and darkness. (That thought caused me to think about how wonder and longing relate to each other, how our own relationships to both emotions change over time, and how that in turn affects our responses to movies - and other artforms, but especially movies I think.)
I think it's Sally Hawkins' performance - almost entirely voiceless, no less - that really makes it (and the quality of the practical effects creating the aquatic creature), along with del Toro's relative restraint in presenting the story, which allows its emotional high points to land all the more effectively, especially the flooded bathroom. It has an emotional truth and groundedness which meant I never questioned its central fantastic element, or fell into reading it primarily in symbolic terms (although the outsider status shared not only by Elisa but also her friends with the creature is made explicit), and allowed its imaginative force to operate in tandem with an emotional one. I still think Pan's Labyrinth was probably del Toro's high point but this was really good.
I think it's Sally Hawkins' performance - almost entirely voiceless, no less - that really makes it (and the quality of the practical effects creating the aquatic creature), along with del Toro's relative restraint in presenting the story, which allows its emotional high points to land all the more effectively, especially the flooded bathroom. It has an emotional truth and groundedness which meant I never questioned its central fantastic element, or fell into reading it primarily in symbolic terms (although the outsider status shared not only by Elisa but also her friends with the creature is made explicit), and allowed its imaginative force to operate in tandem with an emotional one. I still think Pan's Labyrinth was probably del Toro's high point but this was really good.
