FLOW Review: The Brave Little Cat in a Brave New World

It happens once in a while: a truly great movie comes along resurrecting something that’s commonly referred to as the magic of cinema. It's something that most of the audience can’t help but capitulate to.

Sometimes, it comes in the form of a three-hour long drama that mixes familiar genres or explores uncomfortable topics or does any other exciting things. Other times, it can come in the form of an animated film about a little black cat who runs around in the nature for most of the screen time and has surrealistic dreams about caribou that would make Lakan proud.

Actually, Lakan would probably be content from the opening images of the film. Flow starts off with a shot of the protagonist staring into his own reflection in a sparkling surface of water. It seems like the hero – the cat – is less narcissistic and more actively longing for a connection with someone; anyone, really. Something happened in this world, so it is currently entirely devoid of people.

The cat is a former pet who had obviously lost his human. He remains in a cozy home that he now presides over, but the comfort doesn’t ease the feeling of being utterly lost. A terrible flood course corrects the cat’s routine and he is forced to literally embark on an unexpected journey, joined by a capybara, a lemur, a stork and a dog. Yes, a joke about Noah’s Ark is very much implied here.

What also feels a bit surreal is that Flow, the second feature by the Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis (Away), actually premiered in Cannes earlier this year. Not in the main competition, but in Un Certain Regard, right in the middle of slowburn metaphysical westerns with an antiwar message and romantic dramas about coal miners. And here is Zilbalodis’ exquisitely beautiful animation that features a very realistic looking (and sounding) kitty who is fascinated with images of colorful fish in the water and hangs out – even if at first reluctantly – with interesting characters, such as a stoic capybara and a lemur with a temper.

The hero’s journey here has many predecessors and is deeply rooted in tradition: from classical myths and Joseph Campbell’s exploration of them to The Brave Little Toaster, The Land Before Time and the Toy Story franchise. As far as animated films about adventures of unexpected heroes go, though, Flow immediately stands out as its very authentic looking animal characters don’t communicate via words (or, blessedly, songs).

The cat, who we spend the majority of the time here, meows and purrs and arches his back and moves his ears in the most heartbreakingly recognizable way. This particular cat is also rooted in Gints Zilbalodis’ own filmography, as a black cat has appeared as the central character in his earlier short Aqua (2012).

Lest we forget, Flow is also a dystopian movie. Putting a cat as a protagonist navigating a post-apocalypse setting is also not entirely new, thanks to an adventure video game, Stray, that came out in 2022. The stylistic and narrative approach of Zilbalodis and his team is distinctively different though.

No robots or drones populate the dystopian world that looks visually stunning and is filled with Rihards Zalupe's sizzling score; and the adventure that the cat and his companions take on, isn’t only practical but also metaphysical. The fight for survival plot is interlaced with ideas abut found families, the need for connection and the inevitable circle of life.

Most of all, it is a story about acceptance – of the ever-changing circumstances and the even greater sense, of the others - who, even in the post-apocalyptic world, can still constitute someone’s hell.

The film is now playing in select U.S. theaters via Sideshow andJanus Films.