Richard Crouse

SYNOPSIS: “Flow,” the Latvian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards is a heartwarming tale of a brave cat who forms a new community when his home is devastated by a great flood.

CAST: Directed by Gints Zilbalodis and written by Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža.

REVIEW: Completely dialogue free, “Flow” is a beautifully rendered, allegorical tale of the importance of community in the face of disaster.

With no dialogue to fall back on, “Flow” finds its emotional content in the rousing musical score by Zilbalodis and Rihards Zalupe, the lush animation and the choice to use real animal “vocals.” All animal sounds were recorded in the wild—although the capybara is “played” by a baby camel—and it gives the movie a lively, organic feel.

The visuals are supple but not as detailed as most modern animation. Zilbalodis doesn’t animate fur, which gives the animals an abstract look, but the actions of the lead character, for instance, will be familiar to anyone who has ever spent time with a cat.

The arched back, the curled back ears are familiar ways that cats communicate with humans, but it is in the details, like the way his pupils change when danger is near, that the character comes to life.

The animals behave like animals, but this is not a nature documentary by any stretch. More a riff on Noah’s Ark, this is a film that sees the guarded cat find refuge on a boat run by animals—a lazy capybara, goofy dog and self-absorbed lemur—after a climate disaster. It’s there that the various creatures, including the cat, find common ground and learn to trust one another.

“Flow” is a cinematic, family friendly movie that supplies a thrilling survival adventure with fun characters against a backdrop of catastrophe. Climate change is not mentioned, but Zilbalodis seems to suggests that the only way we can combat a climate crisis is to work as one, and that’s an appealing and timely message.