Quite simply, this new animated film knocked my socks off.
Metaphorically, of course, but wow, what a movie it is. At its simplest, it is a story of a cat’s survival in the wilderness – against a ginormous flood, threatening beasts, and uncertainty of food. At its most metaphorical, it’s a cautionary tale about climate catastrophe that suggests the only way to survive it is to work together as best we can. At its most creative, it is a gorgeous example of cinematic world-building via state-of-the-art animation that will amaze its viewers from start to finish.
Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis and his team of artists have created an adventure story in FLOW that is filled with heart-pounding action, nuanced character development, and stirring emotions that demonstrate the power of the medium as there is no dialogue in the entire story. The almost timeless tale starts with a skinny, gray cat with enormous yellow eyes exploring the forest world around him daily before retreating to a home he’s discovered that appears to have no owner. (More on that later.) The one-time owner loved cats however as there are numerous giant sculptures of felines throughout the estate, including one mountainous statue that the cat climbs one day to get a view of the vast world beneath him.
Then one day, after evading a pack of goofy dogs running after him, the cat witnesses a ginormous tsunami submerging everything he has known, including the house he so often retreated to for naps and safety. Not long afterward, the cat and a left-behind golden retriever from the pack manage to find safety in a nearby rowboat and start drifting rather aimlessly through this brave new world of water. Soon after that, the cat finds even better passage on that of an abandoned sailboat, low for the lethargic capybara who happens to be hidden aboard it. (A capybara is a South American mammal, resembling a long-legged guinea pig according to Mr. Webster).
From there, this odd couple discovers new wonders, all kinds of possible dangers, and various fellow travelers making their way through the new environment. No humans are to be found anywhere, with the sly suggestion that maybe man wasn’t able to survive all that they’d put the environment through since time began. Yet, the animal kingdom seems to have survived, partly due to their ability to get along in the varied and often fraught circumstances presented here. Working together, the cat and capybara even learn how to steer the sailboat, cleverly suggesting that staving off the dangers of the world swirling around them requires a combined effort.
Along the way, they make some new friends who join their little odyssey, including the previously encountered golden retriever, a hyperactive, ring-tailed lemur, a protective secretary bird, and even a motherly whale. The terrain at times suggests a jungle more than a forest, one that’s filled with ancient ruins. Is this the filmmakers’ suggestion that the animals are all that’s left of a world ruined by man? Perhaps. Maybe, maybe not. No matter though, one cannot help but pull such meaning behind what characters are part of the story versus those that appear not to have survived.
As the locations become more and more dramatic – there’s even a foray into the cosmos – it seems that the film takes on more and more of the metaphorical, exuding vibes of becoming a parable. The script by Zilbalodis and his fellow screenwriter Matiss Kaza creates a world full of danger, true, but it is also one filled with learned levels of cooperation, tolerance, and even kindness, suggesting that no matter what world we’re left with, we can always become more humane. Even if all that are left are those in the wild kingdom.
FLOW is a marvel, a film that should appeal to all ages, and it stands as exciting as any piece of cinema I encountered this year in the theater. Its story is filled with exacting details, endless charm, and an encouraging message to live and let live, where the best way to survive may very well be to learn to go with the flow.
