The Mewla Young family loves the new, beautifully crafted animated action film Flow. Flow (or Straume in Latvian) was created in Latvia by Gints Zilbalodis and Matīss Kažais.
In the film, a wide-eyed gray cat is caught in a tsunami. The cat and other animals scramble aboard an abandoned boat to survive a massive flood. The adventure doesn’t stop as the animals navigate the rising waters. The film has no dialogue, but the creators do an amazing job capturing realistic gestures of the cat, a capybara, a ring-tailed lemur, a secretary bird, and a pack of dogs.
The fantastical story has many scary and tender moments. Both children and adults will relate to the film’s themes of friendship, conflict, compassion, loss, and the balance and power of nature. If you view the movie with young children, watch through the closing credits for a happy image.
Watch the trailer for Flow.
This month, the film won Best Animated Film at the Golden Globe Festival.[1] It’s also won national awards for Best Animated Film at the:
- European Film Awards,
- the New York Film Critics Circle Awards,
- the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards,
- and the National Board of Review Awards.[1]
Now, Flow could make history if it wins an Oscar at the Academy Awards. Created for less than four million dollars, it will compete against major blockbuster films such as Pixar’s Inside Out 2 and the latest Wallace & Gromit movie in the Best Animated Feature category.[3]
Some Cool Facts: The film‘s creators spent five-and-a-half years making Flow using rudimentary, open-source (free-to-use) graphic design software.[2, 3] The film’s sound designer used actual animal calls for each character except the capybara whose call was too grating.[2]
You can rent the film (currently $5.99) or purchase it (for $19.99) on Prime Video, Apple TV, or Fandango.[1]
Ginger Grrrl reviews the motion-picture film “A Quiet Place: Day 1” and its cat stars at MewlaYoung/cat-movie-stars.
If you’d like to read about other recent animated movies, documentaries and TV shows featuring cats, go to: MewlaYoung/shows-featuring-cats.
Let us know in a comment if you saw the film or plan to watch it.
Written by Mewla Young 27jan2025. Updated 7feb2025.
REFERENCES
Mercuri, M. (7 January 2025). “Flow is Now Streaming. How to Watch the Award-Winning Film from Home.” Retrieved 27 January 2025.
Siddi, F. (22 January 2025). “Making Flow – Interview with director Gints Zilbalodis”. Blender Foundation. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- Howie, G. (7 February 2025). “Flow Will Make Oscars History After 24 Years if it Wins Best Animated Movie.” Retrieved 7 February 2025.
Thank you for sharing a heads-up on this beautiful film! I loved it.
People in the theater sat there speechless and dazed all the way through the credits to the beautiful reprise at the end. Such a lovely work of art and tribute to animals of all kinds.
I loved that there was no talking, no humans, no annoying VO narration. It just unfolded at its own pace,, like nature does.
So true, Kim.
It’s a masterpiece and a tribute to nature.
Thanks for commenting!
Mewla
Another important theme that came through was cooperation and trust. Each animal needed to trust the others to survive and to cooperate. My strongest concern all through it was that they weren’t eating. Yes, the capybara at some flowers and roots as did the lemur, but the others didn’t eat a thing until the cat brought a few fish on board. It’s hard to tell how much time passes but it seemed like days and they didn’t have food!
I loved the mannerisms of each animal and how the body language of the dog wasn’t understandable to the cat (the cat’s stretch looked like a play-bow to the dog) and the lemur’s reactions weren’t understood by the others. But eventually they managed to get along without understanding each other’s language. And even the other dogs learned to get along with the other animals eventually. Wonderfully evocative film.
Hi Andrea,
Excellent points! The animals worked to understand the other species, based on their own natures, and that let them build trust over time. The acts of kindness in the film are touching. Hopefully people will understand and learn from the social, cultural, and environmental messages in this beautiful film.
Thank you for commenting!
Mewla
Yes, Andrea! Agree. The mannerisms were well done, and even the dogs calmed down and understood the assignment when they needed to work together. Really beautiful film is no many ways.
Oh, thanks so much for giving more attention to this wonderful film. It is so deep, so full of danger, fear, and love. My husband and I continue to talk about how the animals interacted, and how the themes of friendship and compassion were explored. I loved the fact that the cat’s problems were not solved by being rescued by humans. He solved his own problems by his wits and bravery and grit. And I loved his gesture of compassion for the dying whale. I wondered if this was supposed to have to do with the Chinese Three Gorges Project–the towns were all abandoned by humans and the rush of water was apocalyptic. Such a deep, intense film!
Mary,
First, I’m honored to have an amazing and accomplished science fiction author like yourself visit my website. Thank you for commenting!
The film’s location wasn’t identified as the setting of the Three Gorges Project, but your connection to the Gezhouba Dam project is brilliant. I looked up some facts. When the reservoir for the dam was filled, water from the Yangtze River submerged about 244 square miles (632 square kilometers) of land, practically the area of New York City. Thirty-one million people were displaced and ancient cultural sites were destroyed.
Dolphins and fish were harmed, including the now critically endangered Chinese Sturgeon whose traditional spawning sites were blocked by the dam.
The tsunami in the movie is never identified with the Three Gorges Project, but clues point to similarities. The film has even more meaning for me as I reflect on the many animals, including abandoned dogs and cats, that were killed by that project.
Mewla
Wonderful observation, Mary! So refreshing to see a film where an animal’s problems are not solved by being rescued by humans!