“The Shape of Water” helmer Guillermo del Toro, who took home the Golden Globe for best director on Sunday night, said he has no intention in making a movie about Donald Trump.
“I am interested in different types of monsters,” del Toro, known for his films about monsters and fantasy words, told reporters backstage.
Seen as a subtle rebuke to xenophobia and ignorance running high in the Trump era, del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” told the story of a mute cleaning lady who falls in love with an amphibian man. The film focuses on a character who feels overlooked, not only for her occupation, but because she has no voice.
“The important thing about fables and fairy tales, they were created to address things that you cannot address as easily… as you can with parable,” del Toro said.
Nonetheless, del Toro said he focuses on making movies that he wants to do. “You have to do movies about things that are close to you, that you understand,” he said.
He also drew a contrast between his film and the Disney classic, “Beauty and the Beast,” which many drew parallels between.
In “Shape of Water,” del Toro said, it’s not the woman who is held captive and then tries to change the beast. “‘The Shape of Water’ ends both things,” del Toro said, adding, “I don’t think love is about transformation and about changing the person, but understanding the person.”
