Flow Movie Review

Flow [Straume] (2024)

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Written by: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža
Directed by: Gints Zilbalodis
Rated: PG
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Plot
After its home is devastated by a great flood, a cat drifts on a boat with a capybara, lemur, bird, and dog in search of dry land while surviving the perils of a newly aquatic planet

Verdict
What an amazing adventure. With no dialog this relies purely on visual storytelling and it excelled beyond all expectations. I was riveted; wondering about the flood and immensely concerned about the fate of these animals. Numerous times I felt a knot in my stomach as the situation became dire. While an animated movie about animals is usually a kids' movie, this doesn't simplify the story to that level. It's just a story about unlikely allies in a dangerous world. The questions it doesn't answer only heighten the fascination with this world.
Watch It.

Review
An animated movie with no dialog; the animation was done using the free and open source software Blender. The film is a Latvian, French and Belgian co-production. It won the Golden Globe and Oscar for best animated feature.

A cat in a forest attempts to survive dogs and other dangers. As the dogs chase the cat, we get a sense of the world and we see an unoccupied house with no humans. The chase is cut short when a herd of animals intersects followed by a great wave of water. The cat tries to reach dry land and escape the rising tide.

Cat

The water's origin is unknown as we wonder if humans abandoned this place. The house we saw had cat carvings and remnants of civilization, but where did the people go? The water continues to rise, only generating more questions.

Despite the lack of dialog, we're able to attribute feelings and desires to these animals. A group of dogs floating by the cat feel like they're calling the cat to enter and escape the rising water. The cat understandably is hesitant to enter a rowboat full of dogs. The boat drifts by and the cat continues climbing to higher ground. A sailboat approaches as the cat's small portion of dry land shrinks. The cat considers options between the rising water and oncoming boat. This is gripping, doing so much with no need for dialog.

These animals do have some sentience, more than you'd expect from 'regular' animals. A bird helps the cat more than once, but the bird's flock takes issue with that help. It's a ruthless world. I love the characterization of the animals. They all act largely as you'd expect from each species. The lemur's fight over an ornament captures the personality of the animals. The lemur is sad over losing something shiny, the bird uninterested in such baubles, the dog only wants to play with it, and the cat and capybara are hapless bystanders. This cat has such a rough time, and I frequently feel so bad for the cat.

Cat, dog, bird, capybara

This movie offers no answers. We get a glimpse or an ornate city, much different from the cabin in the woods. At one point the cat and bird leave the boat, and I can't even explain what happened. This is such a roller coaster. I was frequently concerned the cat wouldn't survive, hoping it could get back to the group. It's such a well done story with several intense and emotional moments. This isn't really a kids' movie though usually and animated movie with animals would be. This is a story about animals that's gripping and effusive. While I'm left wondering about all the underpinnings, maybe the flood only exists to create this adventure.

This leaves us with several unanswered questions, though the flood is primary. What happened to the bird? It's got to be some kind of metaphor, though like everything else it's unexplained. It's clear this isn't Earth, but again that's secondary to the adventure. What this leaves open leads to rampant speculation which cements this movie in your memory after you've watched it.