Flow is a Latvian animated film by Gints Zilbalodis following the journey of a black cat who finds refuge on a boat after its home is overtaken by a great flood. It is a 90-minute sans-dialogue experience that may be my favourite animated film of the year.
Point 1: The Animation
The film is fully animated on the free software Blender, which in and of itself is a massive achievement considering the softwares and workflows that go into making most of the big animated films in Hollywood. In the trend of recent outings like the Spider-Verse films, Puss in Boots or The Wild Robot, the animation of the movie is unique and captivating by itself. The art style is very distinct in a way that I can only describe as pixel art aspects captured in a full render. The lighting and movement captured for environmental elements as well as the animals in the film toe the line perfectly between realistic, and languid and malleable for the purposes of animation.
My first impressions were of fascination as they captured the natural movements and behaviours of a cat so perfectly, but then I was enraptured by the beauty of the colours working together with each shot feeling like a beautiful canvas. That also gave way to the wonder of the lighting work as shadows and light work together to give the screen life. I would be remiss if I did not mention the flawlessness of the water animation. There are many instances of the camera bobbing partly in and out of the water and never is there even an inch that is imperfect.
It is a beautiful time to be an animation fan as we keep getting more and more innovative ways for animators to showcase their creativity. As with some of the films I mentioned previously, the animation itself feels like a living and breathing character in the film, providing the lifeblood that the lovely story uses to flourish.
Point 2: The Story
Although it would be easy to say that the story of Flow is not groundbreaking, that would be missing the point. As the cliche goes, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. And in the 90 minute runtime of the film, it is a journey well worth going on. Following the black cat protagonist brings you on an adventure of learning to live with others, compromise, found family, overcoming fears, self-sacrifice, and the innate will to survive. The story will have you anxious and fearful in certain moments while providing you moments of wonder and magic in others.
The writers also took a very interesting decision in setting in a world that feels like perhaps it is post-humanity, but there are many other elements that make you question whether this really is Earth or not. These decisions add another layer of wonder as you watch since there are no anchors to a world we might recognize, and thus it forces us to just fully submit to the journey of the film.
There are various elements I won’t delve into as I think experiencing it for yourself is important, but I really appreciate the choices that the writers and director made in curating every character and their own little stories.
Point 3: The Music
When your film has no dialogue, two elements need to be unimpeachable: the visuals (covered in the first point) and the sounds. On the latter front, the music and sound design follow in lockstep with the animation in providing an absolutely immersive experience. I was fortunate to be able to catch this film in theatres and it truly is the best way to live it. The ebbs and flow of the music reflecting that of the flood create a lovely coalescence with everything else to find the perfect harmony. Every emotion you feel in different moments are accentuated perfectly by the music as it picks at the anxiety of certain scenes while swelling to match the beauty of others.
Honestly, you could experience this film with your eyes closed and you could feel many of the same things you feel with your eyes open. When you can rely on the independence of the music while also being a crucial part of the audiovisual experience, that’s when you know it’s perfect.
Point 4: Communication
This is not the first film with no dialogue and it should not come as a surprise that such films can still convey great storytelling. However, few films without dialogue feel like the experience would be shortchanged if dialogue were to be added. In modern films with no dialogue such as The Artist or other examples where dialogue is sparse such as the Mad Max films for example, the lack of dialogue gives those films its own flavour but it doesn’t feel like the experience would necessarily be worse if characters spoke.
Now, Flow also has the caveat that it is about animals and having dialogue may be an issue from that perspective. However, with the amount of talking animal animated films we have, I believe that wouldn’t have been an issue. Rather, I think it’s a deliberate choice in order to imbue the movie with abstract concepts that would be robbed with dialogue. What you take away from the movie in terms of messaging is so much broader when you are the one who must juxtapose the dialogue and meaning to what you see. The themes of loss, the cycle of life, and mortality are things I took away from it, but another viewer could easily find other meanings that are closer to them and their lived experiences.
As much as spoken language is a critical part of our lives and how we communicate, Flow demonstrates that sometimes just experiencing a story unfold is a much deeper journey for us to go on than if we were told the meaning of things. It is a flagbearer of “show, don’t tell”.
I cannot recommend this film enough. Please watch this in a dark room with no distractions if you can. It is a lovely experience that I think everyone should take and will come out of it with more in their heart than before. And if you can, watch it in a theater and support small experiments like this.
