Go with the flow. Trust the process. You will survive.
I've been wanting to watch Flow, the award winning animated film by Gints Zilbalodis the moment it came out. Unfortunately, it didn't hit local theaters in Iloilo City and it 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 for screening in selected SM Cinema and Cinematheque Centres nationwide. I watched a 6 PM screening after work. I enjoyed the movie so much that I decided to watch it again on the next screening date. Just like any unforgettable film, Flow is worth watching over and over again.
I wanted to see Flow for the obvious reason that the main character is a courageous black cat. I adore black cats in particular. 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 understandable. 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.
Usually, I have low expectations for animated movies but Flow is pure cinematic magic. I was profoundly impressed by the mystical quality and luminosity of this endearing film. It left me crying little tears in the end because it did have a celebratory ending but a twist of sadness mixed in. The movie invites you to reflect on your fears 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 the black cat and his animal companions had to navigate. The black cat finds unlikely company and friendship with an odd menagerie of domestic and wild animals such as a playful Labrador retriever, a sleepy capybara, a dignified 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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