TL;DR – A stunning work of animation that conveys so much without saying a word. You are brought into this story in the opening moments, and it captivates you until the final frame.  

Post-Credit Scene – There is an end-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Flow Review –

There was one film that I wanted to catch last year, but no matter how much I tried, the film festival screenings never lined up for me. Well, since then, Flow has won the Oscars for Best Animated Film and we have finally gotten a full realise here in Australia. That meant that I had to dive in and give it a watch, and I am so glad that I did.

So, to set the scene, one day, Cat (Miut) was going about its usual day, stretching and sleeping in the old sculpture studio that it calls home and then lazily dropping down to the river to catch some dinner and get something to drink. But this day, a pack of dogs were hounding everyone by the river, and Cat had to make a run for it. But just when they thought they were safe, a cacophony of noise explodes from down the river as a deer horde races away from a flood. Cat manages to escape back to their house, but the next day, the water starts lapping against the house, and for the first time, they realise that home might no longer be safe.  

One of the things that Flow shows is just how much you can do with such a small budget. Three million is a drop in the ocean for animated films, but here, they make every cent work. Sure, you can see inclusion errors in a couple of small places, but overall, the animation is stunning. They completely capture the world, but they do that by leaning into their style of animation, which I would describe as grounded fantasy. In that, this feels like a lived-in real world even though the individual components of the world might not work in reality.

The best place you see that animation in work comes from the many animals we meet along the journey. I think anyone who has ever had a cat in their lives will know that they perfectly captured the cat character, except maybe how much it likes water. This combined with the sound design, immediately endears you to them, which means some aspects of the film become hard to watch. All of the animals, the Labrador, Capybara, Lemur, and Secretarybird, are rendered perfectly, but they all have their own personalities that get brought to the surface. Even though it makes no sense, in reality, you believe in this found family and their ability to charter a boat.

From a narrative perspective, the title Flow pertains not only to the water elements in the film but also to the story. There is no explicit narrative per se, but instead, we go along with the Cat experiencing the world as they get pulled along with the currents. Much like a river, you know as you are meandering down its many curves that you are heading towards the end or mouth. But you are just happy to get carried along, witnessing the many sights along the way. This sort of narrative would not work for every film, but it does here because you are captivated by the characters and where they will go next.

It also works because of the theme of the film. What we have here is a very mythological story, full of allegory and musing. Think in the vein of Journey to the West, where a simple journey is then layer upon with myth and meaning. For example, we could be in a post-apocalyptic world because humanity was clearly there at some point but no longer. There are fingerprints all over the world, but they are no longer. The mythical imagery can be seen in the water, the waver, spiral patterns, and even the whales. It gives depth to a story, pulling you through this world of wonder, which is also supported by a majestic musical score that captures the water in all its forms.

In the end, do we recommend Flow? Absolutely. This was a delight of a film from the first to the final frame. I was captured by the world and captivated by the characters that inhabited it. A complete joy to experience. Have you watched Flow? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Flow, we would recommend to you Robot Dreams.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Flow
Directed by – Gints Zilbalodis
Written by – Gints Zilbalodis & Matīss Kaža
Music by – Gints Zilbalodis & Rihards Zaļupe
Cinematography by – Gints Zilbalodis
Edited by – Gints Zilbalodis
Production/Distribution Companies – Dream Well Studio, Sacrebleu Productions, Take Five, Baltic Content Media, UFO Distribution, Le Parc Distribution & Madman Films
Starring – Miut
Rating – Australia: G; Canada: G; Germany: 6; New Zealand: G; United Kingdom: U; United States: PG