Flow (2024)

It is time, once again, for me to try writing a review for a film that I may not really have a lot to say about. It's not that I don't want to heap praise upon this, but it's a dialogue-free animated feature that is best experienced and enjoyed while it moves and shines, as opposed to dissecting the whole thing once you're away from its comforting embrace.

Co-written by Matīss Kaža and director Gints Zilbalodis, what you get here, basically, is a tale of a cat travelling in a boat with some dogs, a capybara, a ring-tailed lemur, and a secretarybird. They all end up on the boat because the world seems to be inexplicably people-free, and there was a sudden flood causing a major rise in water levels. Not natural bedfellows, this small group of animals end up having to help one another as they go where the tide takes them, hoping to eventually get back to some dry land they can then settle on.

Flow is a sweet and gorgeous look at some animals, and you're more than welcome to enjoy it for that simple and wonderful journey depicted. It's also, however, quite an obvious analogy for anyone fleeing danger, risking their lives travelling across a sea, and becoming part of a small community of survivors, each one bringing their own skill to a newly-formed team that can do much more together than any one individual. But, strange as it may seem, that analogy manages to feel obvious without being delivered in a way that will enrage those who try to pretend that movies shouldn't have any messages in them. 

Created on some free and open-source software, apparently, and taking over five years from start to finish, Flow is a very impressive achievement. It keeps things moving along nicely, the pacing helped by a few key moments that show the major changes happening to the black cat at the heart of the tale, and the visuals are a perfect blend of realism and stylised anthropomorphism (or maybe the anthropomorphism is just the end result of me projecting my own reaction to the events onscreen). Zilbalodis deserves most of the praise, but Kaža and other producers (Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman) should be thanked for delivering this to us, and Rihards Zaļupe presents a beautiful score co-created with Zilbalodis. 

As I said at the start of this review, I don't have a lot to say about the film. I'm amazed I managed to get this far. I'm also amazed that I didn't just repeat the words "beautiful", "sweet", and "moving". A treat for viewers of all ages, although younger children may become a bit restless during some of the more serene moments, Flow is an effective appeal/reminder to help those in need, and to allow yourself to receive help back from others in turn. It's also just a cute adventure with a cat in the company of some other cute animals.

9/10

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