Flow – REVIEW

Still from Flow


I bet a lot of people that were watching the Golden Globes didn’t expect Inside Out 2 or The Wild Robot, the expected winner of not just the Globe for Best Animated Feature but the Oscar too, to lose out on that award. However, it did to this movie, Flow. An independent movie from Latvia, which is also a nominee in this year’s Best International Feature category at the Oscars, beating out not only a strong Pixar movie but the Dreamworks underdog is a big deal. Flow not only has the quality to back it up, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it took home that animated feature Oscar. It’s also a very simple premise: a cat that’s been run out of its home by a massive flood finds shelter with different animals and has to adapt and survive in this new world. I didn’t really know what to expect, but the ties to more fantastical elements would be something to at least watch out for. It doesn’t exactly tie into the plot, but I can’t lie and say that I was expecting it. The animation, done entirely in the free software Blender, is gorgeous to watch. I’m not too well-versed in the animation process, but seeing that it was entirely by one man, director Gints Zibalodis, is incredible. I have to find out where I can watch his other projects soon. I didn’t even mention that Flow has absolutely no dialogue, with visual storytelling swallowing the movie whole. On top of that, it’s done incredibly well, with no sense of being left in the dark of how this cat is feeling or what’s even happening in the story. This probably sounds off topic, but there was this thing that Roger Ebert had with movies that are geared towards families and how that they should be able to engage both kids and adults, as well as being a well-made movie. While I’m certainly not Ebert (not many people are), I think Flow, alongside Sonic the Hedgehog 3, is one of the best examples in recent years of family movies that do have a lot of heart, soul, and passion behind them. It’s wonderful to see.


Ryan’s Grade: A-