Film rated PG by the MPA

Not to sound older than I am, but I miss the days when people didn’t scroll on their phones while watching a new movie. I’ll admit I can be a screenager too, but I know myself and my peers are missing so much when we attempt to multitask in that capacity.

The 2024 film Flow demands the audience’s full, undivided attention. This animated, no dialogue movie, takes place in a post apocalyptic world, following a black cat as it journeys with other stray animals to survive sudden, dramatically rising sea levels. Amidst such dire circumstances, the film explores themes of fear, survival, friendship, and trust. As natural habitats are buried underwater, the characters are forced to adapt in ways they hadn’t needed to previously.

Climate change continues to affect people across the world, negatively impacting living conditions for humanity and wildlife. The circumstances presented in Flow feel closer to reality than is necessarily comfortable. No longer does the idea of abruptly increasing sea levels seem like a fantastical idea that only exists in tales of fiction. Now, while a viewer can take this film as an eerie glimpse into the future, post apocalyptic and all, I prefer to interpret the film as an inspiration, both in the story and the production process.

If I place myself in the paws of the main character cat, I take the story as proof that no difference is too grand to overcome. Flow radiates a feeling of community and found family. The unprecedented ensemble, consisting of a black cat, a capybara, a ring-tailed lemur, a golden labrador retriever, and a secretarybird, do not initially get along easily. And yet the bond they build through this mystifying and confusing experience is both heartwarming and relatable.

The film’s five year production process bore a similar feeling, as the entire crew was comprised of roughly forty-five people, all closely collaborating to bring everything together. It’s worth noting that the film’s director, Gints Zilbalodis, took on a number of additional roles within the crew. He’s also listed as a screenwriter, producer, composer, editor, and art director for the film.

The thirty-five page screenplay, written by Gints Zilbalodis and Matiss Kaza, relies purely on action and description to convey an extraordinary amount of character and setting over the course of the film. After having read the screenplay as the movie played on the TV, I must say that the overall simplicity of the screenplay did the film a huge favour. It left the animators with room for interpretation when it came to things like pacing and design. How long does a glance last? In what ways can emotions like panic and relief be emphasised? How can an environmental layout be illustrated to further elicit said emotions?

Zilbalodis notes in an interview that himself and the crew “studied our own pets, and videos on Youtube, and we went to the zoo”, in order to have an approach he described as “naturalism rather than realism” in the animation. This approach and understanding of the creatures they’re animating is evident, from the cat’s terrified retreats, to the golden lab’s exuberance, to the secretarybird’s generally stoic demeanour.

It’s inspiring hearing Zilbalodis remark on his own inexperience in this filmmaking process. In an interview with Blender he said, “I think a certain level of naivety is necessary when starting a project. If I had known how difficult it would be, I might never have started. But because I didn’t fully grasp the challenges ahead, I just dove in and figured things out along the way.” Knowing that one of the people behind a project this remarkable believes they may not have pursued it if they’d known about each challenge to be faced, makes the pursuit of any creative endeavour feel a little less untouchable. We’re all scared of a challenge – but which of us are delusional enough to keep pushing forward until we’ve miraculously crossed the finish line?

Flow is beautiful on paper and on screen. From start to finish, you’re wrapped up in a world that insists on survival amongst chaos, and further emphasises that one cannot survive chaos alone. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, it’s a must watch. And please…put your phone away for this one.