thinking about this underwater kiss scene again from the shape of water and feeling as if my own lungs are drowning in the most beautiful of ways.
amphibian man sees no urgency in reaching eliza as they both sink slowly downward. he recognises now that they are in his place of existence: somewhere he rules and feels alive. he trusts his surroundings and abilities so he just takes a moment to admire eliza as she ends her above-water, human journey.
he swims carefully up to her, inspecting all of her physical being as if he hasn’t seen the details before…he’s seeing her for the first time in a light that enhances his sight. he finally gets to see her purest form clearly as they float in the depths.
I never quite knew what ‘caressing’ really looked like before he reaches out to eliza here. the gentle traces of her features and how he holds her with such a soft approach is the very definition of caressing - the word rolls off the tongue as his webbed hands glide across her skin.
when he eventually grasps her cheeks to kiss her, still no urgency is seen. he takes his time moving towards her, visually marking her closed eyes before he closes his own.
his lips fit against hers as if they were made for each other; he quite literally breathes new life back into his beloved and pulls back to wait for said life to strike her stilling heartbeat.
amphibian man moves down eliza’s body with grace as he waits for her to take her first breath of water; he holds her hands in his but leaves enough space in front of her face so that the sudden shock of the new surroundings doesn’t frighten her. he makes sure he is holding her body close for comfort but watches this spectacle of rebirth happen from an angle below.
everything about the film is heavenly, but this closing scene is unbelievable. it makes me cry every time I watch it and my heart always speeds up until they fade out of frame embracing each other. I wish to find new life in love like them, I wish…
For when people say they’re sick of seeing gay stuff everywhere. Suck it up. 4 years. 4 years. And that’s just on the books, it’s legal. It doesn’t stop shitty attitudes, actions, or straight up violence.
