Review: 'Flow' is a gem of a movie, a wordless animated tale of animals breaking down barriers to ensure their survival

The artistry and emotion found in the animated adventure “Flow” is so breathtaking, and seemingly effortless, that it’s only in hindsight that you realize how big a risk director Gints Zilbalodis is taking in this brilliant example of wordless, universal storytelling.

It starts with a cat. The cat doesn’t crack jokes, or walk around on its back paws to simulate human behavior. It’s a cat, and behaves like one. The cat sleeps on a human bed, upstairs in a house surrounded by cat sculptures. This cat’s human, we surmise, is an artist. We also start to realize that this cat’s human, as well as all the other humans, are nowhere to be seen.

Something has happened in this world, of an apocalyptic order. That’s even more clear when a giant wave of water comes rushing toward the house, and the cat has to run to stay above it. The cat starts running alongside a river, trying to avoid a pack of dogs, until the river’s banks are also flooded. 

Eventually, the only hope the cat can find is a boat that floats by on the much higher waters. The cat seeks refuge, but soon finds it’s not the only animal on board. Soon the cat is joined by a lemur, a capybara and a heron — and these animals must, without the ability to speak, reach an understanding that they must work together to find a safe space. And then there are those dogs, who are still out there on the perimeter.

Zilbalodis, a filmmaker from Latvia, wears many hats with this production. In addition to being the director, he co-wrote the script with Matiss Kaza, co-wrote the music with Rihards Zalupe, and is listed as the movie’s editor, cinematographer and art director. Here, he creates a fully realized world, where the humans have vanished and the animals are — once again — trying to adjust to a new normal.

The computer-animated visual style is natural while being impressionistic enough to keep the movie out of the uncanny valley. The animals are fully realized as characters — you can understand their motivations and predicaments, even without dialogue — while behaving precisely the way animals would in these extraordinary circumstances.

“Flow” is a movie that you get completely sucked into as you watch it, then marvel at how it came to exist at all. It’s as pure and as specific as storytelling gets. 

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‘Flow’

★★★★

Opens Friday, December 6, in theaters. Rated PG for peril and thematic elements. Running time: 84 minutes.