Congrats to Shape of Water
Normally I don't give a shit about who wins the Oscars. As a movie lover I like to watch the show as a way to reflect on the movies of the year that I enjoyed without putting much worth into which movie is supposed to be better than the other. The show should be a celebration of everyone's achievements, winners are simply subjective judgments based on mass appeal.
That being said, I was super happy to see Guillermo Del Toro get the recognition he deserves on a bigger level. Anyone who has watched his movies can appreciate how idiosyncratic and unique they are, and how obviously they are treated with great care. That he won an Oscar by telling a weird story about banging a fish man is a testament to his skill and his dedication to his personal vision. Congrats to him and his film.
He has a talent for blending fantasy with harsh reality. I've noticed a tendency of his to set films in times of war. In this case it's the Cold War. Maybe it's not the same type of horror as the Spanish Civil War, but it is a time of rising tensions and terror nonetheless. Speaking of which, I'm sure everyone has seen Pan's Labyrinth, but have you seen The Devil's Backbone? It is also set during the Spanish Civil War but it is about a ghost at an orphanage (not to be confused with The Orphanage, which he only a had a producer credit for.)
Definitely. I like how he always has "monsters" that end up being more human than the villains in his films. I haven't seen Devils Backbone but I hear it's one of his best.