Watch: A Video Essay on Guillermo del Toro’s Colors

In the work of Guillermo del Toro, color is as important as fantasy; the director has the color sense of a Van Gogh or Rembrandt, merged with an imagination worthy of H.P. Lovecraft, Italo Calvino, and Luis Bunuel all rolled into one. This video essay by Kian Lanares is a luxuriant walk through some of Del Toro’s lush creations, moving from early films like Cronos or The Devil’s Backbone through such later films as Pan’s Labyrinth, or the Hellboy series. The stories told in these films are, at times, somewhat light, but the coloration is so intense and so nourishing that it tells a story which might contradict the plot on screen, much as if a composer took the basic notes of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and cast them with ominous, deep chords. In any event, this piece is a well-composed delight, both intellectually and visually.