Flow (2024)

Flow (2024) is a low budget Oscar winning animation by Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis. It was, for us, purr-fect. A cat’s happy solitude is suddenly disturbed by rapidly rising flood waters. We aren’t clear why this cat-astrophe has happened.  We follow the cat’s journey of survival with its newfound friends, a capybara, a dog, a lemur and a secretary bird.

This dialogue-free film delighted us, “it doesn’t stop flowing, we are never bored,” said the filmmaker in our discussion group. She told us about Blender, the free and open source 3D graphics software used to make the film.  We appreciated the reflective water and the shimmering landscapes depicted – it was like “an impressionist painting.”

For one member of the group, the film was more stunning than Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out (2015). He was reminded of Studio Ghibli’s work - “even when there’s a lull in action, there’s always something going on.” The film had “a real narrative and purpose, with everything well plotted.”

Flow can be interpreted in many ways. It can be a strong message about climate change. Some have described it as an ‘eco-parable.’  For us, the story of different quirky animals working together to survive suggested neurodiversity and valuing difference. There was also a theme of immigration to survive, with the animals sharing a boat together – “like Noah’s Ark” – said one member of our group.

There is also, as reflected in our MC’s introduction, the theme of community and camaraderie in troubled times. Gints Zilbalodis’ experience of making the film perhaps reflected this theme, as he brought others on board to work with him, instead of filmmaking in isolation.

We were impressed with the representation and accurate movement of the animals. This was refreshing, as so many animations show creatures as anthropomorphic.

Gints Zilbalodis’s five year ‘passion project’ charmed us all. We did wonder if Flow could be seen as a family film. We did have some children in the audience, as well as a dog. Sadly, no cat, capybara, secretary bird or lemur.

Anne