In an indefinite future, in which only ruins remain as evidence of past human rule, a little cat goes on an errant journey during a flood of biblical proportions. Together with four animal companions, she searches in a boat for the land that will save her in a world that threatens to sink completely into the water. With “FlowThe Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis presents an impressively animated animal odyssey that does not require any background story, spoken words or humanization of the animals.
Instead, he tells a lyrical survival fable with atmospheric, poetic images of a declining, yet beautiful world. The official Latvian Oscar candidate, which has already been awarded the prize for the best animated film at the European Film Awards, develops into an unpretentious and therefore successful plea for overcoming differences and the power of collaboration.
In contrast to the Hollywood competition, the animal protagonists in “Flow” remain silent.
A small black cat is roaming through a forest in search of food when he is suddenly chased by a pack of dogs. Even before the pursuers reach them, a huge tidal wave breaks over them, threatening to wipe out all life on land. The cat is swept away by the water, but manages to escape to the bank. She takes refuge in the abandoned house of a sculptor, which has long served as her shelter. But the water continues to rise and soon buries the house.
With a lot of luck, the cat escapes into a passing sailboat, where it meets a stoic capybara. Shortly afterwards, a golden retriever, a thieving lemur and a large white bird join the unusual crew. In the midst of a dying world, the animals, now literally in the same boat, must learn to work together to have a chance of survival…
A unique animation style
The combination of photorealistic-looking backgrounds with exciting light and water effects as well as the reduced cel-shaded animations of the animals may be irritating at first. After all, you are used to a special effort from Pixar and Co. when it comes to fur, hair or feather animations. But by foregoing highly detailed character animations, the film consciously avoids the problems that otherwise come into play with the facial expressions of realistically animated animals (we remember the “The Lion King” remake). Instead, Gints Zilbalodis uses simplified but expressive animations of the cat and its companions, with the focus on their facial expressions in order to make the emotions of the wordlessly acting animals understandable.
After a short time, the interplay of backgrounds and characters works seamlessly. Especially since the constantly moving camera captures the action very dynamically: it flies around the animals, is there in the mix when the cat threatens to be trampled by a startled herd of deer or a bird takes it to lofty heights. Although the odyssey is often staged at a rapid pace, director Zilbalodis also takes his time to let the images of the fascinating, deserted dystopia take effect. Despite the destructive flooding, the settings celebrate the beauty of nature. The light displays, water reflections and impressive ruins and sculptures create an awe-inspiring atmosphere.
“Flow” celebrates the almost spherical beauty of a world in decline.
Zilbalodis relies entirely on the engaging atmosphere of his computer-animated world of images, which is accompanied by self-composed music. In this way, he repeatedly creates magical, almost meditative moments before the cat and its companions once again become a matter of life and death in this sinking world. Zilbalodis' feature film debut “Away – On Finding Happiness”, which he made entirely on his own, reveals a remarkable feel for atmospheric situations. In the work, published in 2020, a silent boy finds himself on the run from a huge, black creature after a plane crash on a deserted island. Despite minimalistic animations, this film manages to create an atmosphere that is reminiscent of the poetic computer games of the Japanese development team ICO (“Shadow of the Colossus”) and conveys feelings of awe and forlornness, which are now also present in “Flow,” which is much more sophisticated in terms of animation technology. captivate you.
In both works, the filmmaker takes you into idiosyncratic, dystopian worlds that require no classification or explanation. Zilbalodis captures wordless odysseys that do not follow a stringent narrative, but are captivating through their mysteriousness. The characterization of the characters is less direct, but rather is conveyed through the atmospheric atmosphere, the music and especially the sounds and movements of the animals. With this particular approach, Zilbalodis' works are more like cinematic video games than traditional cinematic experiences.
Team spirit
Zilbalodis' short film “Aqua” from 2012 can almost be seen as a storyboard for individual sequences from “Flow” and impressively illustrates how long the director has been working with the basic idea – a cat in a world suddenly threatened by masses of water . “Flow” is the first production that the Latvian filmmaker did not realize entirely independently as a one-man team. He sees his new experience of teamwork in making the film as a direct correspondence to the experiences of his animal protagonist. The black kitten, a deeply self-sufficient creature, must first learn to integrate into a community and overcome her fears of water and interactions with other animals in order to survive.
Without anthropomorphizing the animals, the boat crew is characterized by their individual animal peculiarities, which manifest themselves in different character traits. The carefree dog is characterized by naivety and strong group orientation, the lemur is hyperactive and possessive, while the capybara is a calming place above the inevitable communication problems and inconsistencies on board. Through the flowing movements, facial expressions and animal sounds, you can always guess what moves the individual members. Despite their differences, they must all pull together to face the challenges of this declining world.
Conclusion: Visually powerful, fast-paced and thought-provoking at the same time – “Flow” is an animated film experience that uses wonderfully atmospheric images to celebrate the beauty and at the same time the irrepressible power of nature as well as the will to survive and team spirit of an imaginative community of animals despite themselves.
We saw “Flow” at the 21st Festival de Sevilla.