Flow (2024) – 8/10 – Epic, poignant cinematic journey told without dialogue
Overall
Flow is an animated film from Latvia. However, it’s not relevant where it’s from because of a unique feature—no dialogue. Rather than using dialogue or narration, this movie relies entirely on communicating through observations and actions. And it works surprisingly well with the simple plot and characters involved. Keep in mind that simple doesn’t mean basic or dull. Some stories might speak for themselves without requiring every element explained on the way. Music, sounds, and basic gestures can suffice in getting the message across. The story mirrors life’s unpredictability and the vulnerability that exists under the purview of Mother Nature. It covers relatable themes including overcoming adversity, fear of the unknown, adaptability, and friendship. The Oscars nominated Flow in 2025 for Best International Film and Best Animated Film, of which it won Best Animated Film. Flow deserved it, but I think Wild Robot should have won. They are both excellent, yet Wild Robot surpasses by a slim margin.
Would I recommend this?
Yes, I recommend this. It’s a beautiful, touching story of survival with animal characters that are easy to like and understand. You don’t always need language and direct communication to spell things out if you can comprehend what’s happening on screen. The simple, charming tale interweaves emotions and inspiration to stay captivating. This movie, though only an hour and 20 minutes, effectively encapsulates the power of imagination, allowing us an escape to another world. One where animals reign supreme. My rating is 8/10.
Plot (spoiler-free)
A calamity destroys a grey cat’s home forest. After traversing the flood, the cat finds shelter on a sailboat with other creatures to survive. During the boat travels, the cat must interact with the animals and overcome obstacles. These beings include a dog, lemur, secretary bird, and capybara. Since they are a variety of animals and Mother Nature continues its relentless barrage, how will they survive?
Interesting tidbits
Except for the capybara, the animal noises are all recorded from real animals. They could not match the capybara’s sounds to the personality, so they switched it with a baby camel’s. Flow had a low budget, so they created it using a free and open-source 3D creation software, Blender. There are no scene deletes; every scene produced is included in the release. This is the first independent motion picture to win an Oscar for Best Animated Film. It’s also the first Oscar for Latvia, and the first Oscar for an animated film from Europe. After its success, Latvia erected statues of the main animals.
Technicals
Flow is fun for the whole family. I loved the sensational visuals, direction, music, storytelling style, script, and themes. If you consider the budget and scope this covers, it’s surprising they did this using free software. It’s difficult to make a movie succeed without dialogue because you only have visuals and sounds to rely on. Hats off to the filmmakers for making it work. In the past, only large studios created animated films, but Flow proved that any small studio with constrained resources can produce something wonderful. Tools are available for free. It’s possible to manage with a modest budget, provided you have the right vision, time, script, and expertise. Technology has ended the need to handcraft and draw everything manually. But this movie goes beyond animation. The story is symbolic, meticulous, and original in presentation. Each animal is heartwarming and easy to feel empathy for during their struggles against nature and each other. Authenticity in behavior, personality, and cooperation is lovely to bear witness. As for limitations, the pacing is slow in multiple scenes. For a movie that is this short, I would expect tighter pacing, but they kept every scene they made. Second, the plot, although engaging, is quite simple, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I didn’t always grasp the symbolism and messages. Third, the animation wasn’t always smooth in appearance. Visuals were a little choppy and lacked polish.
*Obtained trivia facts from IMDb’s trivia page and plot/basic history/name information from Wiki
