Film Review: Flow is the cat's whiskers
Flow is quite unlike anything I have ever seen, says Cara.
I am a confessed cat lady who doesn’t have a cat, which probably explains my addiction to 30-second bursts of feline joy on TikTok.
It was almost a given that I would enjoy , the little Latvian film that took on the might of Hollywood to win Best Animated Film at this year’s Oscars.
The film’s protagonist is a cat; I am the target audience. However, I didn’t expect to fall completely in love with it. The sheer beauty of this small but mighty film captivated me from start to finish. And you don’t have to be a cat person to enjoy it.
Mesmerizing in its beauty, is quite unlike anything I have ever seen, and just five minutes in, I could see why it beat the massive box office hit, , to the Oscar.
There are so many animated films about animals, but the big thing that makes stand out is that the animals are not anthropomorphic. They don’t speak with human voices, drive cars, cook dinners, or go to work. There is not a single word of dialogue in the film other than the sounds of animals. They meow, bark, grunt, and squawk. They fear each other, sometimes fight, and only form an alliance when facing insurmountable odds.
We first meet our central figure, a jet-black cat with bright green eyes, as he meanders about and heads for a well-earned nap in an old house. Later, he sees a pack of dogs and runs away from them. He manages to avoid them but is later confused by seeing a pack of deer running for their lives.
As other animals appear following the deer, our feline friend discovers why they are running. Water is rising, gradually flowing onto the land before ferociously flooding it.
As the cat runs to avoid the flood, he jumps into an empty boat, which will become his refuge.
As he floats along in the boat, he is gradually joined by some unlikely friends - a sleepy capybara, a wily lemur, a disgruntled secretary bird, and, eventually, an excitable Labrador.
Together, they face unending hardship as the world becomes increasingly submerged, but the little black cat somehow holds this unlikely band together in unity despite their species.
A cautionary tale about climate change? An acknowledgement that if a catastrophic event happens, it’s likely only the animals will survive? A fable to encourage us to join forces despite acrimony? Flow is so many things and more.
This is a beautifully animated film with a meditative storytelling style. It tells an incredibly moving tale of endurance and unity in the face of adversity.
I cried at the closing scenes, and I expect you will, too. Five stars for this true masterpiece.
