The Shape of Water: why it won the Oscar and where to watch it streaming

The Shape of Water (The Shape of Water, 2017) is the film that took Guillermo del Toro to the top of Hollywood: four Oscars, including best film and best direction. Set in 1962 Baltimore, in the middle of the Cold War, it tells the story of Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute cleaner at a high-security government laboratory who discovers the facility's most secret experiment: an amphibious creature revered as a god in the Amazon. What begins as a curiosity becomes one of the most unusual love stories in recent cinema.

Why it is still essential

Del Toro constructed a fairy tale for adults with the materials of classic monster cinema – the creature refers directly to The Woman and the Monster (1954) – and filled it with marginalized characters: a mute woman, her homosexual illustrator neighbor (Richard Jenkins), her African-American companion (Octavia Spencer) and a “monster” more human than her captor, Agent Strickland (Michael Shannon). The thesis is transparent and beautiful: the different ones recognize each other.

Technically it's a feast: the aquatic score by Alexandre Desplat (Oscar), the production design by Paul D. Austerberry (Oscar) and the body work by Doug Jones under the creature's suit—del Toro's frequent collaborator since Pan's Labyrinth—make every shot seem submerged. It is also the most optimistic film of its director: where Pan's Labyrinth punished fantasy, here fantasy rescues.

Where to watch it streaming

• Disney+: available with the standard subscription in Spain, Latin America and most regions (the film belongs to the Searchlight catalog, today part of Disney).
• Hulu: included in the United States, also within the bundle with Disney+.
• Movistar+: available in Spain according to the catalog of the month.
• Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Rakuten TV and Amazon Prime Video.

In summary

Who is it for? For those who want an adult fairy tale with a classic cinema heart. Is it horror? No: it is romantic fantasy with moments of tension and specific violence. Where to watch it? Disney+ in most countries, Hulu in the US, and digital rental in regular stores. If you've only seen "fish man" memes, the movie is much more than that — and on the big screen in your living room, with the lights off, it continues to cast a spell.