Flow

Contrary to what one might expect from an animation film like this, this is not the one where animals can speak and magic happens. It looks and is very realistic and still remains magical; all without a single word.

The main character is a black cat, who witnesses the beginning of a natural disaster and tries to save its life by being a cat and going with the flow. The story is reminiscent of the biblical Noah's Arc, only without us humans, although the traces of our earlier presence are clearly seen.

With the cat and the other characters we flow and get mesmerized by the skillfully animated beautiful planet Earth and a little bit beyond it.

P. S. Remember to stay through the credits: there's a wonderful surprise at the end!

An incredibly beautiful film. Goosebumps. Tears. A unique concept, without words but with dialogue. With sounds and music that make your heart beat faster.

For the first time ever, I sat and couldn't get up when the credits started rolling. I had to focus on them for a moment to see who made this magic happen, and to blink away emotions from my eyes. Even the team's dogs are mentioned in the credits. And then suddenly, a surprise - another scene after the credits!

Now I feel like reading everything that I can find about the film, getting stills as my desktop and phone wallpaper, and have just ordered their Cat t-shirt.

This is a masterpiece that I can't wait to see again!

Get ready to be utterly captivated. Flow, the 2024 animated film, isn't just good, it's an instant classic, a landmark achievement that will be talked about for years to come. This isn't hyperbole, it's a simple truth. Flow is a breathtaking journey that will touch your heart, ignite your imagination, and leave you in absolute awe.

From the very first frame, the film's visual splendor grabs you. The animation is nothing short of revolutionary, seamlessly blending traditional techniques with cutting-edge technology to create a world that feels both familiar and fantastical. Every detail, from the subtle textures of fur to the luminous glow of a twilight sky, is meticulously crafted, drawing you into a vibrant and immersive experience. This is animation as high art, pushing the boundaries of the medium to create something truly extraordinary.

But Flow isn't just a pretty face. Beneath its stunning visuals lies a story that is equally compelling. The plot, which follows a young cat separated from his family in a flood, a group of unlikely animal friends on an epic adventure, is both simple and profound. It tackles universal themes of resilience, the importance of home, the power of friendship with a deft touch, avoiding heavy-handedness while still packing an emotional punch. You'll find yourself instantly invested in the characters, their struggles, and their triumphs. The film manages to be both cute and incredibly moving. The characters are so well designed and they're hard to not love.

The film's cuteness factor is undeniable. The characters, with their expressive eyes and endearing quirks, are instantly lovable. Flow will be a family movie to remember. But this isn't a film that relies on saccharine sweetness. It's the imaginative world-building, the whimsical details, and the sheer joy of discovery that will enchant you. The film's heart-warming core is earned, emerging organically from the characters' journeys and the challenges they overcome.

In a sea of animated films, Flow stands tall. It is a masterpiece, a testament to the power of animation to transport us to other worlds and tell stories that resonate deeply. This is a film that will appeal to audiences of all ages, a cinematic experience that will stay with you long after the credits roll. Flow is not just one of the greatest animated films of the year; it's one of the greatest animated films of all time. Don't miss it.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

Flow is a beautifully made animated film that is without words. With the occasional animal sounds, it's almost a silent movie.

During my showing, we had kids and parents present, which was a first for me with this yearly film festival, where the usual is cinephile adults and students. But since this was more kid-friendly, it was intriguing to see how well the movie can keep them engaged without a word spoken. I would say it succeeded in most aspects. There was one kid who was locked in throughout the whole film and would often ask questions of his mother.

One of the things I appreciate about Flow is that it could have easily made the animals talk and hired famous people to voice them. I imagine Chris Pratt and Awkwafina would be available as they always are. But I'm glad they didn't.

Every animal has clear characteristics and personalities - communicated through posture, attitude, or character ticks. One is the leader type. The other is naive and childlike, or the other is sassy. I mean, it must be when telling a story.

Speaking of the story, the key conflict these animals face is a gigantic flood that takes over the land. There are plenty of suspenseful moments when it comes to the water, such as the rising water, and there isn't any space left to keep you above water. Or whenever one of the animals accidentally falls in, there's that worry of one of them drowning, and you're almost yelling for them to get back on.

With this flood, we don't know what year the film takes place. The only hints we are given of its time are man-made empty wooden boats that the animals jump on to avoid drowning. There are also houses, suggesting that humans are around, but we never see them. We are left with the animals, but like humans, they need each other to survive.

Overall rating: a beautiful, animated adventure and one of the most unique animated films of 2024. We are engaging with it much differently, which is without dialogue or humans, just us interrupting the story, the setting, and our critter characters.

Some kids won't click with it, but I know some will.

... because there is no explanation of what is happening whatsoever. There is no narration. The animals do not talk and there are no human characters. All you know is what you see for yourself. It's like a silent film in that regard - You must pay attention to the entire thing.

A cat lives alone in a world devoid of humans. There are signs of past civilization all around - entire cities, amphitheaters, statues, and even a huge statue of a cat that looks like an idol. The cat lives in a house that has the signs of past human habitation all around - there are drawings and models that indicate that whoever lived in the cat's house built the cat statues and was planning to build more.

But then a flood comes one day and the waters rise so high that practically everything is underwater. In this situation a boat comes along and the cat finds himself adrift in that boat with a capybara, a lemur, a dog, and a secretary bird. The boat really isn't adrift though, as all of the animals know how to steer the boat.

One of the more unique things about it is that the creators had the brilliant idea to set the anthropomorphization for the non-human characters to about 25%, instead of the usual 75-100% where the characters might as well be humans in animal costumes. The characters' behaviors in Flow feel entirely natural for their species -- It's just that their intelligence has been enhanced enough to allow them greater self-reflection and interspecies communication. It's all a very refreshing take versus Disney and Pixar films.

This world the film inhabits seems to be a post-human one, but I wonder. My read is that at some point shortly before the events of the film, humans became animals. The human owner of the sculptor's cottage didn't disappear. The cat is the sculptor. Also note how, before the flood, the cat wanders during the day, but at night comes home to the sculptor's house and sleeps in a human bed - the kind of thing that humans do. But that's my take. You decide.