By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Original language title: Straume
Year: 2024
Running time: 85
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4772188/reference/
Michael says: “What a delight it was going into the film FLOW with no knowledge of the plot, other than it was a dialog-free, animated film about a cat. As the film began, it quickly became apparent this this tale was taking place in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity had been long wiped-out, and only animals remained — at least as far as the viewer experiences. When a natural disaster takes place, a solitary black cat must use her wits, and overcome her natural independent spirt to collaborate with a handful of other species in order for them to survive.
“It was so refreshing to watch this film in a cinema surrounded by people, all of whom were hanging on every moment of this cat’s existence. When the cat engaged in very cat-like activity, you could hear the collective, ‘awww…’ and when she was in danger, the crowd gasped. While the animation itself had moments of fuzziness, especially in extreme close-ups, like the pixillation of a computer image zoomed in too far, the overall imagery used in the film was gorgeous and awe-inspiring, whether gazing up at massive stone statues, of seeing an enormous, breaching, whale-like creature hurl itself into the air.
“But FLOW succeeds almost entirely on its storytelling ability. With no dialog, but the chirps, mews, and barks of its character, there’s never a moment where the viewer doesn’t understand motivations or intentions. The message here is cooperate to survive, and co-writer/director Gints Zilbalodis sends that message in a way that is riveting. 4 1/2 cats“