Flow (2024)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Cat Batch Fever

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

There have been many exemplary, groundbreaking animated movies in recent years, but Gints Zilbalodis's Flow, from Belgium, France, and Latvia, deserves to rank among the top of the heap. It was created entirely on an open-source animation software, and contains no dialogue. It tells the story of a black cat and several other animals (a capybera, a dog, a ring-tailed lemur, and a secretarybird) attempting to survive a massive flood on an abandoned boat. Weirdly, the characters themselves feel a bit unfinished, lacking detail like fur or feathers, but at the same time, the movements are incredibly detailed, and even majestic. Additionally the sound design, animal noises and a ruminative score, creates a beautiful spell. It's a movie that goes from simple heartstring-tugging to something more cosmic with a rhythm resembling life.