Why ‘Flow’ will leave you in a peaceful state

How following the quiet cat’s journey brings tons of emotion

‘Flow’ follows the story of a cat trying to survive rising waters (Photo: Dream Well Studio)

When “Flow” brought home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, no one saw it coming. For years, animation fans were all too aware of how the Oscars often shun the animation category. It always narrowed down to which DreamWorks or Disney film dominated the box office that year. To have been able to catch it on the big screen this year is quite the treat.

“Flow” was recently screened alongside the documentary “Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea” as part of Araneta City’s Seafood Festival. An odd choice for a double feature, but after going through the heavy-hitter documentary, “Flow” proved to be the perfect choice to lighten the mood and have you leaving the cinema on a positive note.

Joining the cat on its long journey are a capybara, a ring-tailed lemur, and a Labrador Retriever dog

In “Flow,” we follow the story of a dark grey cat residing in a forest. For some unknown reason, the water levels start to rise, leading to the cat having to get on a boat along with other animals. Joining the cat on the journey are a relaxed capybara, a materialistic ring-tailed lemur, an overly enthusiastic Labrador Retriever dog, and a majestic-looking secretarybird. There is no dialogue throughout, leaving viewers to gauge how the group is feeling from their actions and movements. Surprisingly enough, even without words, it manages to convey what each character is feeling and gives us an adequate representation of their personal attitudes.

Environment art is stunning and completely catches your attention due to its grand scale.

What stands out the most about “Flow” is the grand scale of the environment we find our characters in. Their world feels almost endless. As we follow them on their journey, it feels akin to playing a video game where characters try to get from point A to point B. Obstacles along the way keep us hooked on how the animals will overcome each challenge thrown their way. It’s almost shocking to learn that director Gints Zilbalodis and writer Matīss Kaža created this whole film using a free animation software, Blender, and didn’t have a storyboard to work with.

After watching “Flow,” we were left stunned and teary-eyed from witnessing the long journey the animals went through. It’s truly a remarkable spectacle to watch, and it’s surprising how it manages to pull you in without any dialogue at all. Perhaps the only gripe we have is not knowing much about the world these animals reside in. We are barely given any lore about the environment or given an explanation about why the water was rising to begin with. Still, by the end of it all, we were heavily invested in all the creatures shown and came to love the journey they took us on. — Poch Eulalia