Flow (2024)
A reflection on the award-winning Latvian animated film about a cat.
Flow is mesmerising. The 4 year project, written and produced by Latvians Gints Zibalodis and Matiss Kaza, is a dream-like feast for the eyes that catapults the viewer into a post-apocalyptic world where water levels are rapidly rising. The humans have all but vanished, either to higher ground or to the nearest floating object. Remnants of the presence of people appear in the form of an unfinished wood carving of a cat, the spiral-shaped off cuttings still lying dormant on the worktop. Cats seem to be venerated in this world. Colossal feline statues dominate the landscape as well as smaller statuettes that litter (pun intended) the forest floor. Weaving its way through all of these sumptuously rendered scenes is our main character: the cat. Through every second of the 84 minute running time, we are with the cat.
A video game entitled Stray, developed by BlueTwelve Studio, was released on Playstation in 2022. It follows the travails of a cat that accidentally falls inside the walls of a city fortress with the aim of the game being to find its way back out. Much like Flow, the game garnered awards for its art design and graphic quality. The game started development way back in 2015. It is significant that these two projects were created and released at similar times. Since the advent of the web and all the dopamine- sapping apps that came with it like Tik-Tok, cats have inadvertently become cultural superstars whether they are falling comically off a table or going berserk after a spot of catnip. It is no surprise that we now have two very feline-centric pieces in both the film and video game worlds. It should all give us paws for thought.
Flow is a silent film. All the emoting and story telling is conveyed through the facial expressions, movements and actions of the animals on screen. This is a miraculous feat when one considers how moving the film often is. One can’t help but be swept along with the rising water levels as much as the cat. There are shades of Ang Lee’s The Life of Pi (2012) with several animals adrift on open waters, minus the human. Whereas Pi depicts the brutality and violence of the animal world, Flow adopts a more cooperative approach in its depiction of the main characters. That is not to say there are no scenes of loss or cruelty, the film does not shy away from the harsh realities of being a cat, lemur, dog, capybara or Secretary bird. Full transparency here: I am not up on my animals. I literally believed that the bird depicted in Flow was some mythical creature dreamt up by the Latvian film-makers. I was wrong. It exists. Watching videos of this actual bird confirmed that they are simply one of the most elegant and unique creatures on the planet. That being said, the ‘whales’ in the film are clearly visually embellished and beautifully so with added size, fins and speed.
There are magical realist elements woven into the narrative and these are executed with enough conviction so as to not alienate the viewer. Additionally, the anthropomorphic line is straddled perfectly to ensure there are no singing donkeys or pandas that are experts in martial arts. However, the animals are given enough agency to steer a boat correctly and execute elaborate rescue plans while collaborating together. Each animal species is closely aligned with its own stereotype much like an Irish person would be when depicted as a Guinness swilling, bar-fighting, poet. The dogs are obsessed with food and squirrels and will drop everything to find both. The cat is naturally cautious and distrustful. The lemur is mischievous and full of energy. The Secretary bird….no idea.
Referring to the visuals earlier as dreamlike works on a literal basis. The outright beauty of the world is reminiscent of one of those landscapes one’s imagination or subconscious might conjure up during REM sleep. You wake up marvelling at the capacity of the mind to render such odd yet awe-inspiring vistas and landscapes. The makers of Flow managed to re-route this aspect of our inner worlds and externalised it in the form of this film. Witnessing the boat float into a flooded ancient city with highly ornate decorative stonework rising up hundreds of feet above them is jaw-dropping. The inventiveness, the creativity and the technical ingenuity is present in every shot. Flow features the adventures of five animals in a time of great challenge and turmoil. Ultimately however, it teaches us how to be human with not one person in sight.