Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences.
Chuck says:
Though it has the appearance of a Disney film, Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow” is something more. The animated animals at its center are not voiced by moonlighting Hollywood superstars, there are no cute, catchy tunes to slow down the story, and thankfully absent are goofy, fuzzy sidekicks pandering for laughs. No, this is a much more serious affair, an engaging if overlong adventure that contains a vital, timely message delivered in a poignant, effective manner.
A peaceful pastoral scene opens the film, a lone cat prowling a verdant meadow. It lives in a house, oddly devoid of humans, sculptures of felines spotted about the property. During one of its outings, a pack of harmless, curious dogs are encountered as are a flock of birds. All seems well.
That is until the cat witnesses a herd of deer running quickly through a nearby forest, obviously fleeing a threat. Soon, massive waves of water inundate the area, a cataclysmic natural disaster the obvious cause. The cat and dogs suddenly find themselves scrambling for high ground, the water level rapidly rising, their world transformed into a death trap in which there is no escape.
Fortunately, a rowboat is found, and when the cat and dogs board it, they find a capybara has already found refuge there. This makeshift menagerie drifts towards an uncertain future, eventually joined by a secretary bird and a lemur with a cache of knickknacks in tow.
Though it smacks of “The Incredible Journey” and shares some thematic similarities, Zilbalodis’ tone is markedly different. The circumstances regarding their survival are more dire while every aspect of how they will continue to live is addressed.
Despite it being animated, there’s a naturalistic feel to the film, the movement of the water, foliage and animals flowing organically, while the sounds that surround them are actual recordings captured in the wild. Though human voices were not given to the animals, the sounds they make are those supplied by their real-life counterparts. (The press notes state many capybaras were tickled at a Latvian zoo to capture their “voice.” However, it was determined these noises did not match the animated character’s personality, so a camel was used.)
What emerges is a lesson in cooperation, as this disparate group are able to put aside the differences between their species in order to survive. The cat provides food by fishing for the group, the bird’s intelligence allows it to steer the boat, the lemur’s curiosity proves helpful, as does the capybara’s resourcefulness, while a whale even lends a hand. As for the dogs…well, at least they provide some companionship at times.
While the film’s message is sound, it’s execution is lacking. In this era of slick computer animation, the effort here comes off as crude at times. While Zilbalodis and his animation crew have mastered motion, the appearance of the characters lacks the polish we’ve come to expect. The cat, lemur and capybara are passable, but the dogs seem unfinished, necessary details in their appearance touched on but not completed. While it may seem a nitpicking concern, it proves a distraction what with the backgrounds and other elements done so well.
While it does overstay its welcome a bit, “Flow” is a worthwhile endeavor that simply but forcibly delivers a lesson we too often forget. Though it may not seem like it, the question of survival is one we encounter every day. One of the tenants of humanism is that we should help one another in this common struggle because of our shared humanity. That Zilbalodis uses animals to remind us of this, is telling.
3 Stars
