Like "Water," "Labyrinth" was an original del Toro fantasy, set against the backdrop of traumatic recent real-world history. Both films also center on a relationship between an emotionally complex and vulnerable human female and an exotic creature played by frequent del Toro collaborator Doug Jones (albeit under pounds of latex makeup.)
"Labyrinth's" awards-circuit success bodes well for "Water." The 2006 film cleaned up at the box office, doing very well for a Spanish language movie in subtitle-averse America, and it won several Oscars for realizing its imaginative vision. Indeed, it may represent del Toro's finest work as a filmmaker.
