RSS

Review: Flow

— by WILLIAM STERR —

Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous animation, with a moving story to go with it.

I was a bit put off when first watching the film because the animation of the animals is so much simpler than the incredible backgrounds. However, as I got deeper into the movie that became irrelevant, as it was clear that, although subtle, the simpler drawings were fully capable of expressing the characters of the animals.

The cast consists of:
• black cat
• dog pack, specifically a yellow Labrador and its rowdy packmates
• Secretary Bird
• ringed-tailed lemur
• capybara
• and a cameo appearance by a fabulist’s imagining of a whale

These are not your anthropomorphized, wisecracking creatures as seen in innumerable Disney animations either. They act just as you would expect the real animal to act, right down to the actual recorded vocalizations of the animals they depict. An interesting exception was the capybara. While the filmmakers did record the sounds of a capybara, they decided the sounds of a baby camel better fit the situations in which the capybara found itself.

The feature begins with the cat exploring the lushly depicted forest and stream environment in which it dwells. It visits a strange cottage surrounded by sculptures of cats, small and monumental, but there are no people. It is a sun-dappled, magical, fairytale world – but with no fairies. Fairies are human creations.

Later, the cat is beset by a pack of dogs, of which only the Lab seeks friendship. A wild, beautifully choreographed chase ensues which only ends with a wild stampede of scores of deer. This in turn is quickly followed by what the deer are fleeing: a tidal wave that sweeps all of this primeval world before it.

The cat is nearly drowned in the deluge but finally makes it to dry land. However, the water is creeping higher and higher. “She” makes it to the cottage only to see it engulfed and finally, is forced to the topmost ear of the giant cat sculpture. Then, just as this last resort is submerged, she makes it to a passing sailboat.

Safe for the moment, she discovers there is a capybara already on board. They are eventually joined by a human bauble-collecting lemur, the joyous Labrador, and a Secretary bird who has taken an interest in the cat. It is here on the boat that the only human attribute is expressed: first the bird, and then the capybara are able to operate the boat’s tiller. Their harrowing adventures in this world free of all but the archaeological remnants of Man are truly remarkable.

“Flow” is one of the most incredible animated visions of the world that I have ever seen. The gradual camaraderie of the five, their terrors and joys, are all gorgeously expressed and one forms emotional bonds with these digital creatures.

Latvian director/writer Gints Zilbalodis (“Away”) has done another fabulous job of bringing his imagination to life so we can all share in it. Thank you!


Runtime: One hour, 25 minutes and I wish it had been longer.
Availability: Still in some theaters; streaming through several services.

. . .

Join us on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/itsjustmovies!



Comments are closed.