Details from IMDB:
Flow
Original title: Straume
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.
- Director
- Writers
Initial Thoughts:
I’m a little out of touch with movies and awards these days. I had completely forgotten about this one, which won Best Animated Picture last year. My thanks to Rebecca, from Geekshow Podcast and TV Show in Space, for the reminder and recommendation. This morning I had some time, so I decided to give this a watch.
Main Points:
This is a very unique film, there is zero dialogue (no people are ever shown), no subtitles or voice-overs and just the sounds of animals communicating with each other. The animation is also very unusual; it seems gritty and less life-like for many of the animals (at times), but there are other scenes that look incredible and do wonderful things with light and colour. The main character is a black cat who clings to what remains of his normal life and keeps returning to the house he lived in until flooding forces him to leave and join other animals on a boat.
For a movie about only animals, this film does a wonderful job of exploring emotions, friendship, death, loss, and even the afterlife and climate change. If you’re a cat lover, this is a wonderful treat and is very realistic of what I know to be a cat’s behaviour. I found some parts to be very emotional, especially towards the end, and I was sad to see it end. Also worth noting: whoever made this film clearly loves cats; there are numerous drawings and statues of them, especially at the beginning. The black cat grows, and changes, adapting to his new life in the people-less world, and I felt real concern when his life is in peril. I think it’s wonderful that films as unique and different as this are still being made. I hope Gints Zibalodis has more for us in the future.
Final Thoughts:
As mentioned, be prepared to get hit in the feels pretty hard. I have always loved cats (and animals) and thought this was a wonderful breath of fresh air compared to the usual animated movies. A solid 8.5 out of 10 from me. I would have liked more of an explanation of what happened to one animal, a large bird called a secretary and why this is the only cat we see in this world. Do yourself a favour and see this excellent movie, which dares to be different, with amazing animation, a nice, simple story, and lots of time to think about how wonderful animals are. Some animated violence (no blood) and peril for the cat, so ages 10+. I watched this on Crave, a Canadian streaming service.