Guillermo del Toro's latest film is an adult fairy tale on the demonization of otherness in any era

TELLURIDE, Colo. - Throughout his career, Guillermo del Toro has bounced between large-scale studio films such as "Pacific Rim" and "Hellboy" and smaller, more idiosyncratic ones like "Pan's Labyrinth" and "The Devil's Backbone." His latest movie, "The Shape of Water" - the story of a mute janitor (Sally Hawkins) who falls in love with an aquatic humanoid creature being held captive in a secret government laboratory during the Cold War - is, perhaps needless to say, one of the latter. It's also being hailed as one of his best.

Building on the raves it earned in its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the movie - a fable of improbable love in the face of fear and intolerance - drew cheers at its first North American screening Saturday at the Telluride Film Festival. It will play the Toronto International Film Festival next,