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Flow Movie Review

Flow is a 2024 Latvian animated fantasy adventure film directed by Gints Zilbalodis. This is one of the best movies of the year and a truly transcendent viewing experience.

Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences. Latvia is a country known for its strong animation, especially in short form. But this is the first time that I am seeing a film from this particular director and I have to say that I am instantly intrigued to see more from him. Zilbalodis is less than 30 years old and he has already made a movie that many much older filmmakers could only dream of directing. Needless to say, this signals the arrival of a great talent in the animation medium and I am very excited to follow him on that journey.

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I am all up for this fresh new trend in animation that is all about the artistic and silent treatment, but one that is still enjoyable and not at all limited in appeal. Last year’s ‘Robot Dreams’ was the best animated film of 2023 and similarly Flow might end up being the best animation of this year. The difference here is that there are no robots or humans to be found anywhere as the movie is entirely animal-centric and definitely for the better. This led to a wonderfully natural and ecological tale that is simple on the surface, but much deeper when you start to unravel its imagery and apparent themes.

Yes, Flow is very much one of those movies that are great for opening discussion. The film is so richly textured and imagined that it is begging to be analyzed with more depth. The ambiguity on display signaled real artistry on the part of Zilbalodis. Couple that with the fact that this is still a very well paced and engaging narrative and you’ve got a product that is both for children and adults, both mainstream and arthouse.

You can read this movie in so many different interpretations with the most obvious one being about this animal group standing for this diverse group of friends, signifying the importance of respect, tolerance and co-operation. There is definitely a way to read this story as one about humans, especially when you consider those dogs that are only there for their own goals and eventually abandon the group when they chase a rabbit. They stand for selfish humans who aren’t worthy of saving.

But there is also a religious or I should say spiritual take on the story that is all about this Biblical flooding with clear allusions to Noah’s Ark and even a sequence that represents a type of passing away and going to heaven. That scene was so enchantingly transcendent and just immensely moving that it made the story feel very spiritual and otherworldly. This is how you tackle spirituality in a nuanced and visually artistic way instead of preaching to the masses. The entire movie is very emotional without ever being didactic or manipulative, which is not an easy feat to accomplish whatsoever, but this director did it and he did it with a lot of style and confidence.

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Let’s talk about these animals. This eclectic group of furry (and one feathery) friends is an instantly iconic cinematic friendship unlike no other. The black cat protagonist has this wonderful arc where it has to overcome the fear of swimming and socializing. Eventually, the cat is part of a group and begins hunting fish regularly. I liked the cat a lot, but I did find its clumsiness and stupidity questionable. The dog and the cat are the dumbest members of the group and it should certainly be the other way around.

But other than that tidbit, these animals were voiced properly as they worked with real animals from a zoo to film their real noises. This lent a lot of authenticity to their depictions along with their character designs and movements, which are both immensely realistic and believable. The Labrador Retriever is reliably playful and adorable while the clear standouts for me were the capybara, the secretarybird and the ring-tailed lemur. The capybara was hilariously chill and relaxed about everything, acting like a sage to the entire group. The secretarybird had an arc of self-sacrifice and it acted as sort of a mentor for the group. The end of this bird’s story was undeniably spiritual and ripe for discussion. And of course the lemur was the funniest of the bunch as this little hoarder guided his things with a lot of feistiness.

Flow is impressively animated, especially when you take into account that it was made on a free animation program. The designs are realistic as I’ve already stated and the backgrounds are polished, pleasing and richly detailed. This world is clearly a fantastical realm with influences in architecture and landscapes ranging from Europe to South America to Southeast Asia. This world is so stunningly designed and imagined that I was having a blast observing those cat statues and those grandiose pillars emerging from the water. There is a mythological element to the story that was quite appealing to me and it made for an epic, eternal quality to the narrative.

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The movie is also superbly edited and paced. It is a riveting and enchanting watch from start to finish. The mysterious and adventurous elements were a delight while the tone was just right, mixing the dark and existentialist with the light and playful effortlessly well. The fact that the director also composed the score speaks volumes of his talents. The music is wonderfully electronic, moody and poetic. There is so much memorable imagery throughout the film and most of it signifies an important theme – e.g. the whale ending up on the shore stood for environmental disasters and climate change while the ending invites us all to look at our reflections and think about our planet more.