

flow
★★★★
REVIEWER: lyall carter
Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences.
There seems to be this unfounded perception that animation is an avenue merely for telling stories for children. This of course ignores the universal themes that have existed in that form for people of all ages since Walt Disney’s classic full length animated feature of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. And Flow is a part of that great tradition. While devoid of dialogue, Flow speaks volumes not only through the stunning and beautifully rendered images but through the themes of friendship and caring for the world around us.
The world seems to be coming to an end, teeming with the vestiges of a human presence. Cat is a solitary animal, but as his home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species and will have to team up with them despite their differences. In the lonesome boat sailing through mystical overflowed landscapes, they navigate the challenges and dangers of adapting to this new world.
Not only is it unusual in modern day cinema for a dialogue free film but especially, since we’re so used to singing animated spectaculars, it is incredibly unique for a feature length animated film to have no character or creatures speaking. But that doesn’t mean that the film or that the characters that inhabit this world don’t ‘speak.’
From the very first gorgeously rendered frame you are pulled straight into the story filled with adventure and wonder. But even at a runtime just shy of an hour and a half, the story never feels rushed. The narrative and the characters themselves are allowed to breathe and while there is no incredible thrust to the film, the animals banding together just to survive this new and flooded world gives more than enough impetus to the story itself.
While devoid of dialogue, Flow speaks volumes not only through the stunning and beautifully rendered images but through the themes of friendship and caring for the world around us.