(G) ★★★★
Director: Gints Zilbalodis.
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| Finally. The gritty reboot of Madagascar we've all been waiting for. |
Flow, in case you have forgotten, is the little Latvian film that beat out Pixar, Dreamworks, and Aardman to win the Best Animated Film Oscar back in March.
With no humans, no words, and no significant plot to speak of, it's an astonishingly beautiful film that shows us how effective simple storytelling can be, and reminds us how animated movies truly are a balm for the soul.
The story, in so much as there is one, is of a cat forced to give up its solitary life when rising floodwaters submerge its home. In a search for dry land, the cat ends up in a boat alongside a capybara, a ringtailed lemur, a Labrador and a secretary bird, drifting on a new ocean that seemingly covers most of the world.
Though the film is not without its drama, it's a quiet tale told at a gentle pace, yet it's never short of engrossing. It leaves plenty of questions unanswered to ensure we get a cat's-eye view of the world, and a similar level of understanding. Flow is quite clever in its ability to get you into the cat's head, and if the cat doesn't understand it, then you probably won't either.
The animation style is beautiful, and not a million miles from The Wild Robot, in that it covers its CG in painterly brushstrokes, except that Flow has an endearing added layer of pixelly imperfections. The end result has a picture book quality to it, yet is still immersive and filled with raw power.
One of the many amazing qualities of Flow is its appeal. Young kids will be mesmerised by its animal stars, while adults will be equally entranced. And don't be surprised if you find yourself trying to unravel some of the film's big unanswered questions long after the credits have rolled.
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