Flow dazzles the senses and warms your soul as a thrilling animated adventure reminds us of cooperation's important value in difficult times. The simple premise follows a wide-eyed black cat as it escapes a flood that inundates the countryside. Our feline protagonist soon discovers he's not alone as other fleeing critters join him on a Noah's Ark-like journey with deep spiritual and mystical undertones. Director/co-writer Gints Zilbalodis weaves a masterful narrative from a truly unique perspective. Latvia's submission to the upcoming 97th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, which has a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, captivates without uttering a single word.
A black cat curiously looks at his reflection in the water of a forest stream. The cat runs and hides as a pack of dogs chases a rabbit nearby, and then walks up a path with wooden carvings of cats along the trail. Looming in the distance is a giant statue of another feline. When it reaches an abandoned cottage, the cat prances onto the roof before slinking through a cracked glass. It nestles down to sleep in a cozy bed, but that nap is short-lived.
The cat leaps back to the rooftop as a thundering noise approaches. It watches with astonishment as a herd of elk run for their lives from a surge of water. The entire forest is being submerged. The cat leaps off the roof before clinging to a branch in desperation. Its brief respite is interrupted when one of the dogs, a yellow Labrador Retriever, also tries to grab on. The branch snaps and both animals are swept away.
Every Wild Animal According to Its Kind
In a world on the brink of collapse, remnants of humanity linger. Cat, typically a solitary creature, loses his home to a massive flood and seeks refuge on a boat filled with diverse species. Despite their differences, they must unite to survive. As the boat drifts through mystical, flooded landscapes, they face the challenges and dangers of adapting to this new world.
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Director
- Gints Zilbalodis
- Runtime
- 1h 24m
- Writers
- Gints Zilbalodis , Matiss Kaza
- A visually stunning movie with unique animation that adapts to the situation.
- It's a perfectly paced 85 minutes, all leading to an astounding ending of almost spiritual power.
- The sound design is brilliantly immersive.
- The film's environmental themes and focus on cooperation are well formulated.
Both animals make it to higher ground, but the water continues to rise ominously. The cat runs to the highest peak it can find. But there's no safety on top of the mammoth cat statue. It whines in distress while clinging to the statue's ears. Drowning seems an inevitable fate until a boat's mast is seen drifting on the horizon.
20 Best Animated Films That Weren't Made in the U.S.
Here are 20 international animated movies you can add to your watch list, ranging from dramatic war stories to tales of folklore and mystery.
Zilbalodis, a Latvian animator who gained worldwide acclaim for his debut feature Away, which is also a silent film, continues to achieve greatness. Flow takes on a Life of Pi narrative structure as the boat becomes a beacon for survival. The cat soon finds itself stuck with, wait for it, a capybara (the world's largest rodent), a hoarding lemur, a massive crane, and the friendly yellow lab it had previously encountered. The plot mesmerizes with unexpected twists and reveals. Eyes will be glued to the screen as rapt audiences wonder where the story is going.
Flow is seen from the cat's point of view. We also never know the cat's gender as it embarks on an extraordinary journey. Zilbalodis and his incredible animators get top marks for realistically capturing its movement. Their methodology also holds true for the other animals that come along for the ride. They are not specifically detailed, but look completely natural in their environment. This is especially impressive as the flood worsens and the animals encounter numerous obstacles, all of which challenge an initially uneasy truce.
Flow isn't a Disney film where the characters get along like peas and carrots from the start. They're also not clawing and biting each other as food. There's a common ground found in the boat's safety. Each animal quickly realizes everyone's best interest is not to cause trouble. But that peace is tenuous when instinct naturally takes hold. Let's just say the lemur doesn't like to share his toys.
Zilbalodis cements their group bond as they learn to work together for the greater good. This is where the film deviates from pure realism to accentuate higher learning and teamwork. You can't help but smile as the animals learn to steer the boat. This happens organically as they accidentally move the rudder and understand it directs the vessel's movement. But they are also not taking human leaps of cognition. They move the boat to avoid sinking. No critter breaks out a compass or checks wind direction.
10 Best New Animated Movies of 2024, Ranked
The year 2024, particularly, has delivered some of the most creative, heartwarming, and appealing cinematic animated experiences so far.
Flow's sound design must be lauded for its effectiveness. The water crashing, various animal noises, and even the howling wind are all vital to the film's credibility. Zilbalodis is also careful to mitigate the levels of what we hear. Moments of silence have a legitimate impact as the animals are able to rest from the maelstrom. We feel their anxiety rising and subsiding as they repeatedly cheat death. This ebb and flow of tension wouldn't work without the sound perfectly mixed with the correct visual cues.
Perfectly Paced Towards an Astounding, Unexpected Finale
Zilbalodis deserves applause for nailing the perfect pacing. Flow could have been all spectacle, a rushed 30-minute short. The 85-minute runtime never dulls because there's always forward movement. The audience has no idea where Zilbalodis is taking the plot. What happens in the final act is astounding. It's quite surprising and reframes one of the animal characters. Some may criticize this turn as ethereal when the film had more or less been grounded, but this reviewer was gob-smacked. It's another welcome development in a film that enchants in every frame. Stick around after the credits.
Flow is a production of Dream Well Studio, Sacrebleu Productions, and Take Five. It will be released at New York City's Angelika Film Center on November 22nd, followed by national distribution on December 6th from Sideshow and Janus Films. Find showtimes and tickets here.
Comments
Post a Comment