Going into Flow I had no idea what to expect. I knew it was animated and it won awards, but I figured it was going to be one to watch blind with the kids, and it was well worth it.
Flow is a beautifully designed movie. It tells the story of a cat during a great flood. It initially deals with some gods chasing it, but as the flood goes up, the cat winds up making its way to higher and higher ground, from the top of its house to the top of statues to some ancient ruins.
But the cat can’t venture that high alone; it winds up in a boat with a capybara. The capybara seems happy to sleep out of the rain and encourages the cat to do the same. The journey also brings along some new allies, like a lemur who doesn’t want to give up its stuff until it is dragged onto the boat, and one of the dogs from earlier.
There is no dialogue in this movie, only the animal sounds made by the animals. Instead the animals communicate with each other with movement and nudges. This is powerful, as the movie does a fantastic job of showing emotions, but also you can’t easily tell an animal’s intentions until they act. All of the characters grow so much throughout the movie, such as our cat who goes from seeming fearful of everything and running and the slightest hint of a risk to being a strong member of the team taking on challenges. Our lemur goes from hoarding everything and trying to keep its treasures to valuing its new team. They all go through this, so I won’t list every animal off, but you get the picture.
One of the coolest aspects of a movie like this is being able to rewatch it and see new stuff each time. There is a scene where you see a boat in a tree, showing this isn’t the first flood like this, but I totally missed that on the first watch. Again, I don’t want to spoil everything you can spot or what meaning you can give to scenes, as you should enjoy it and figure the meaning out for yourself. An interesting aspect was when someone who I watched the movie with commented that it was relaxing, whereas I found it stressful as the count bounced from perilous moment to perilous moment. Different people can get different things from this flick.
The animation style of the movie is beyond gorgeous. The simple character design makes the whole experience pop on the TV, and with the smooth animation, the animals are shockingly expressive. All of the different areas they go through have unique and beautiful designs that look so damn good. It’s an exceptional film.
If you haven’t seen Flow, see it. It’s the perfect movie to have on the shelf to enjoy when you want, but also a perfectly chill thing to keep the kiddo’s entertained. This Blu-ray has some fascinating interviews to make it a fantastic package. It’s all-round excellence.
It’s all-round excellence!
