Flow

Original title: Flow

Directed by: Gints Zilbalodis

Length: 84 min.

Country: Latvia

Year: 2024

Premiere: Cannes 2024, Annecy Film Festival 2024

Synopsis: Set in a mysterious world, a black cat faces the dangers of a flood, and on his journey, joins a group of other survivor animals. 

RATING: 4/5

REVIEW

Flow is a firm reminder that animation is not a "lesser" form of cinema - on the contrary, it is a work that breathes pure cinema, flawless visual narration, movie magic of the purest kind.

Without any form of dialogue, the film narrates through purely visual mediums, achieving a harmony that few films ever do. The abscence of words does not equate to difficulties in interpretation: the gestures, the movements of the creatures, the eyes of the animated characters are capable to convey the needed emotions, an acheivement more so remarkable when one considers that Flow is an animated film made in CG.

A CG technique that is nothing like the usual animation films that we got used to, following the hegemony of Pixar or other animation studios, but that uses forms of textures that make the scenes almost bidimensional, and at the same time is capable of using all the advantages of a full, 3D environment, with elaborate camera movements and vertiginous sets. Despite the very elaborate techniques, not once it feels detaching from the storytelling, not once it becomes bothersome.

Flow's worldbuilding, mysterious yet with a clear backstory, is perhaps one of its most outstanding aspects. A fantasy realm of magic that somehow reminds of Castle in the Sky and other sources, but is distinct enough to be its own thing, with its own arcane rules and balances. The cat's adventure through this otherworldy landscape is made even more interesting by all the signals and hints that can or cannot be caught on to.

Finally, Flow is a film with a clear moralistic message, intended for an all ages audience. It is a perfect film for families, children, but that does not feel childish or immature enough for adults to not enjoy it - and therein lies one of its greatest qualities, its universality, not only content wise, but in language: Flow is proof of a cinematic language that is beyond its theatrical roots, something that cinema as a whole too often forgets about itself.