“The Shape of Water” is a fantastic work of cinema.

Director Guillermo del Toro has created a colossal work of imagination that pushes the boundaries of creativity and, no doubt, will push buttons and even sound some alarms.

“The Shape of Water” is the 2018 Academy Award leading contender, having been nominated for 13 Oscars, eclipsed by “All About Eve” (1950), “Titanic” (1997) and “La La Land” (2016), each nominated for a record 15 Oscars.

Director Guillermo del Toro (Oscar nominee, director, original screenplay, “The Shape of Water”) is a fabulist filmmaker (Oscar nominee, Foreign Language Film, Original Screenplay, “Pan’s Labyrinth,” 2006), telling stories that challenge normative forms.

“The Shape of Water,” a Cold-War allegory, takes place in Baltimore in 1962 against the backdrop of the Cuban missile crisis (the soundtrack includes audio snippets of President John Kennedy’s televised warning to Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev).

A top-secret United States facility houses an Amphibian Man captured by a military operative (creepily effective Michael Shannon). Soviet Union spies, led by Dr. Robert Hoffstetler (a fine Michael Stuhlbarg), try to thwart the U.S. government experiments with Amphibian Man.

Doug Jones (Fauno-Pale Man, “Pan’s Labyrinth”) plays the Amphibian Man, called the Monster, with balletic grace. While CGI augments his performance (horizontal eyelids, breathing gills, glowing skin), Jones gives the creature an undeniable presence.

Octavia Spencer (Oscar nominee, supporting actress, “The Shape of Water”) brings humanity and humor to her role as Zelda, an unhappily married cleaning woman at the secret facility and friend and confidante to Elisa (Sally Hawkins), also a cleaning woman and a mute.

Elisa is a young woman living alone above a movie theater who has a platonic friendship with an older man, Giles (superb Richard Jenkins, Oscar nominee, supporting actor, “The Shape of Water”).

“The Shape of Water” rides on the amazing nearly wordless performance of Hawkins (Oscar nominee, actress, “The Shape of Water”). Hawkins’ big eyes mirror those of the Amphibian Man, as does her guileless manner and reservoir of empathy.

The score by Alexandre Deplat (Oscar nominee, original score, “The Shape of Water”) brings a meditative quality to the film.

“The Shape of Water” takes the moviegoer to an emotional place and a magical world beyond his or her own experience and comprehension.

“The Shape of Water,”

MPAA Rated R (Restricted Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.) for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language; Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Romance; Run time: 2 hrs., 3 mins. Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Credit Readers Anonymous: “The Shape of Water” soundtrack includes the 1943 pop hit, “You’ll Never Know” (Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon) sung by Alice Faye.

Box Office,

Jan. 26: “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” opened at No. 1, with $23.5 million, ending the three-week No. 1 reign of Freedom High School graduate Dwayne Johnson’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” sliding down one spot to No. 2, with $16.4 million, $338 million, six weeks, even as “Hostiles” jumped up 20 spots to No. 3, with $10.2 million, $12 million, six weeks. 4. “The Greatest Showman” swung up one spot, with $9.5 million, $126.4 million, six weeks. 5. “The Post” dropped one slot, with $8.8 million, $58.5 million, six weeks. 6. “12 Strong” dropped four slots, $8.6 million, $29.7 million, two weeks. 7. “Den of Thieves” ducked down four places, $8.4 million, $28.5 million. 8. “The Shape of Water” got an Oscar bump with 13 nominations and swam up eight slots back into the Top 10, with $5.7 million, $37.6 million, nine weeks. 9. ”Paddington 2” stepped down three places, $5.5 million, $32 million, three weeks. 10. “Padmaavat,” $4.2 million, opening.

Unreel,

Feb. 2:

“Winchester,”

PG-13: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig direct Helen Mirren, Sarah Snook, Jason Clarke, and Angus Sampson in the horror thriller. A firearms company heiress thinks she’s haunted by the souls of those killed by the Winchester rifle.

Five popcorn boxes out of five popcorn boxes.