I've been wanting to watch Flow, the award winning animated film by Gints Zilbalodis the moment it came out in cinemas. Unfortunately, it didn't hit local theaters in Iloilo City and was not available on online streaming platforms in our region. During the last week of April, I was beyond excited to learn that Film Development Council of the Philippines included Flow in their I Animate festival line-up of notable and award winning animated films scheduled for screening in selected SM Cinema and Cinematheque Centres nationwide. I watched a 6PM screening at Cinematheque Iloilo and enjoyed the virtually empty 74-seater theater all to myself. Ten minutes into the movie, I realized it was dialogue-free, wordless movie that relied heavily on rich ambient soundscape and a stirring musical score. Needless to say, the movie was highly entertaining, powerful and emotionally engaging that I decided to watch it again on the next screening date. During the second screening, I took notice of the nuances, details and minutiae that I missed during the first screening.
Flow's main character is a courageous black cat. I adore black cats and the movie reminded me of my black half-Persian half-Puspin cat Marsha. I have three black cats and I am in awe of their feline mystique which borders on the spiritual. Why Gints Zilbalodis chose to feature a black cat instead of a tuxedo or tortoiseshell cat is fitting. Black cats are enigmatic, sinuous and incredibly street smart. Even in a post-apocalyptic setting, the black cat is poised to survive the harshest, hardest places.
I usually have low expectations for animated movies but Flow is pure cinematic splendor. I was blown away by the mystical imagery and luminosity of this endearing film. The sparkling, scintillating evanescence of nature is highlighted by this film. The movie starts with a scene of the black cat looking into a reflecting pool, the waters glistening with the tremors of an impending doom. Coming full circle, the movie concludes with a scene of the black cat staring back at his reflection with a beached, dying whale beside him. This time he is not alone. He is in the company of three other animals whom he journeyed with to safe harbor.
The movie invites you to reflect on your fears and overcoming them the way our feline protagonist did. Cats are known to hate water but the post-apocalyptic flooding that is the central theme in the movie is the dangerous and perilous backdrop that black cat and his animal companions had to navigate. The black cat unexpectedly finds company and friendship with an odd menagerie of domestic and wild creatures such as a playful Labrador retriever, a sleepy capybara, a mysterious Secretary bird, a comical ring-tailed lemur, and a mythical whale. The animals are thrown by fate into a sailboat for an epic adventure that transports them to a breathtaking and dangerous waterlogged world. The animals go with the flow and trust their survival instincts.
Flow's greatest charm lies in its ability to connect with viewers without the need to anthropomorphize animals or rely on glossy Disney like animation quality. The movie has the aesthetics of a video game combined with a dreamy Ghibli feel. It is visually hypnotic in combination with dramatic musical scoring that pulls in the viewers to ride a crescendo of strong and complex emotions.
Through Flow, we see a cataclysmic world through the eyes of a cat. Flow is a big ASMR immersive experience and we are grateful to be partake in its visual extravagance.
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