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movie: Flow
2025-Mar-07, Friday 04:33 pmI saw the picture of the animated cat in my Max (formerly HBO) account as an Oscar Winner film. I thought, sure, why not, so I watched Flow today. It's definitely Oscar worthy.
Click to read the mild spoilers...
There's not a single word uttered throughout the film, so of course I am predisposed to like it. I think maybe this film is about how friendships can form amongst unlikely companions. The animals are all just ever-so-slightly too anthropomorphic, though. Early in the film when the cat intentionally steers a boat, you know something is different in this world. Not just that, but when the world suddenly floods, there is clearly a massive animal that is a whale-analog but clearly not a real-Earth whale. Later, there's also an... unusual event... that leaves me wondering if this planet is Earth at all, or just a post-apocalyptic Earth where unusual things are just more common.
Although there are clearly the remains of civilization in this world, we never see humans or humanoids. We see only their dilapidated buildings and boats. They apparently left, one way or another, but semi-recently. Paint is peeling from wood, windows are broken, and grass has overtaken an outdoor amphitheater. Much of the stone and wood infrastructure remains. Their disappearance is never addressed. It is just the backdrop for the life-or-death struggle of this story.
The animal anthropomorphism makes it easy for characters to express their desires without formal language. We see friendships form and understand why they develop. We see distinct personalities, suitable to the general character of their species. Overall, it's an entertaining story.
It ends on a strange note. The flood recedes even faster than it arrived. One of the ragtag friends seems destined to die. Where exactly did that massive amount of water go? Indeed, a strange ending. But a good story.
It was definitely worth the time to watch, just to experience a full adventure unburdened by any expressions of language. It's an interesting product from Latvia. And it was made with Blender, a free and open source software, proving once again that sharing is caring, and capitalism is not required to make great projects in this world.
