Xiao Meng, Class 3, Senior 2, Shenzhen Foreign Languages School

深圳外国语学校 高二（3）班肖蒙

“The Shape of Water” is a marvelous film that deserves the Oscar prize. It is a story about a mute lady and a merman who fall in love with each other. The mute lady, Elisa, finds that they have much in common though he is a nonhuman creature.

I think the most important reason for Elisa to accept him is that they both can’t speak, so there is no discrimination between them. They are made for each other.

The appearance of him makes her life complete. Through the film, we can also see the fiercest social problem in the United States — discrimination. Every role in the film is meaningful: an old man who has a different sexual orientation from most people; a Russian spy with sympathy; a black woman with a miserable marriage.

They are insular in the sea of society. It can be seen from this that the appearance of the merman is a kind of mixture of people who have been discriminated against in society. So I think the love between Elisa and the merman also means society’s acceptance of those people, which is also the director’s sincere wish.

Jumping out of the plot, let’s talk about the film making. The most attractive part is the background music. It is soft and calm, like a granny who is whispering a story into your ear. And the great actress, Sally Hawkins, is not a beauty but also has a surprising skill in acting.

Elisa, the role she plays, is a mute lady. That means she can only use movements and expressions to build the character.

And she did it. She makes me feel like the character was written for her at the very beginning instead of choosing her to act.

A masterpiece is always worth reviewing. Sinking into the wonderful music, I may have some different opinions about it when I appreciate it next time.