Release Date – 21st March 2025, Cert – U, Run-time – 1 hour 25 minutes, Director – Gints Zilbalodis
A group of animals band together to survive in an old boat when their homes are destroyed by a mass flood.
In a world without dialogue the language we hear throughout Flow are a variety of animal noises and the natural world that surrounds the central group constructed of a cat, dog, lemur and capybara. The sound design throughout is fantastic and, alongside the sparingly used score, manages to bring us in to the initial disaster and subsequent story of interspecies survival. As a giant flood rushes into the habitat of the animals, largely seen through the eyes of a small black cat, there’s a genuine sense of stress and panic as each situation and hint of safety is quickly disrupted, or made worse, by a rapidly rising tide.
While the animation of this €3.5 million feature may not be what we’ve become ‘used to’ over the last few years there’s still a number of really nice shots which look great on the big screen, stay through the credits for one of the best of the film. The scenery and various locations we visit are brought to life thanks to the perspective of both the environment and the equally natural course in which the flood takes the characters travelling in their old, tired-looking boat. The world may be filled with water, but there’s plenty to look at and visually enjoy about the different locations we visit over the course of a short run-time.
With each place visited the overall arc that Flow covers manages to avoid repetition and keeps a steady, consistent pace. There’s a gentle feeling to the film as a whole but it isn’t without its moments of peril and tension as the fight for survival, and at times with the world around them and other animals, is put at the focus of a particular sequence. Yet, within the core grouping there’s a believable unit. Their behaviours and expressions are kept largely natural, with some assistance from the animated world, and yet a good deal of emotion comes across from each, combining to create a stronger eventual team looking for survival both individually and coming together by some form of coincidence, but quietly surviving as a whole.
Much of what causes Flow to work is rather quiet. It’s a film that appears to have been made on something of a small scale but makes a big splash because of the overall effect that it has in communicating its sequences led by a believable group of non-speaking animated animals. All going through a well-rounded set of events made with a fluid style which avoids feeling chaptered, and locations which should be seen on the big screen for the best impact.
A small film with a big visual and audible impact from its sound and story, Flow takes a group of believable animal characters and uses them to express much of the wonder and tension there is to be found within an overall rather gentle film.
Just A Little Bit Random 