![\"Flow\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flow4k.jpg\")
None of the characters in Latvian animator Gints Zilbalodis\u2019s poignant, vividly realized Flow utter a single word. They\u2019re all animals, which normally wouldn\u2019t keep them from talking in an animated feature, but so much of what makes Flow so rewarding and unexpected is how Zilbalodis resists the temptation to anthropomorphize his CGI critters.<\/p>\n
The film expertly immerses us in its narrative, which follows the journey of a black cat in a human-less world devastated by a cataclysmic flood. Fearful and suspicious, the cat eventually boards a sailboat as water swallows the landscape, falling in with other animals whose personalities are just as easy to decipher: a chilled-out capybara, a hoarding lemur, an excitable Labrador retriever, and a high-strung secretarybird. We\u2019re never at a loss to know how the cat feels, as Zilbalodis finds multitudes in the position of its ears, the wideness of its pupils, and the skittering of its legs.<\/p>\n
In some of the film\u2019s more intense sequences, the camera glides alongside the cat in breathless, unbroken shots as the animal flees a pack of dogs or nearly drowns beneath waves. Though Flow, which is movingly attuned to its characters\u2019 primal instincts, is largely suitable for family viewing, its sense of peril is all the more acute because of how realistic the creatures seem, tapping into the distress we\u2019re gripped by when we watch struggling animals.<\/p>\n
The film\u2019s presentation will invite video game comparisons, whether in its cutscene-like action scenes or its semi-realistic 3D environments bathed in heavy sunlight. BlueTwelve Studio\u2019s indie hit Stray<\/a>, about a cat with a robot companion traversing a post-apocalyptic world, will be the most obvious point of comparison. Yet, Flow doesn\u2019t feel like most games because its images speak for themselves, with the lack of exposition (like, say, graffiti or diaries revealing what happened to humanity) allowing the film to maintain a brisk, compelling pace.<\/p>\n Except perhaps in the broadest strokes about cooperation and coexistence, Flow isn\u2019t nakedly allegorical. Here, we watch and wonder at things like the strange, monolithic animal statues or an ethereal beam of light before the cat presses onward. Such images gain beauty and mystery because the film lacks pat scenes of characters idly speculating about the pre-apocalyptic world or despairing over what will become of them. In the face of what may very well be inevitable doom, the animals can only move forward and adapt\u2014if they can. Flow is never held back by its lack of words because, through sheer skill and craft, it transcends the very need for them.<\/p>\n Image\/Sound<\/p>\n Criterion\u2019s 4K transfer perfectly renders every nuance in the animals\u2019 facial and body language. The blues and greens of the color palette are positively radiant, while the black form of the central cat never looks smudged or blotchy despite the absence of finer fur animation. The audio track is similarly flawless, evenly distributing the ambient sounds of wind, choppy surf, and animal calls across all channels. It\u2019s particularly great at rendering the film\u2019s softer (and easily missable) sounds, like the faint creak of the wood of the boat as it moves through water.<\/p>\n Extras<\/p>\n Criterion has assembled an impressive set of bonus features for this release. First and foremost is the inclusion of Gints Zilbalodis\u2019s 2019 debut feature, Away, in a 4K transfer. Animated entirely by the director, the film\u2014a gene splice of Playdead\u2019s Limbo<\/a> and Antoine de Saint-Exup\u00e9ry\u2019s The Little Prince\u2014is a beautiful, compelling exercise in minimalism.<\/p>\n Zilbalodis also contributes a commentary track for Flow in which he provides ample practical and thematic reasons for certain animation choices. He does so amid wry jokes about things like the flood of opening production company logos inflating the film\u2019s runtime and being drawn into debates about being a cat or dog person during press tours.<\/p>\n Two of Zilbalodis\u2019s early shorts, \u201cAqua\u201d and \u201cPriorities,\u201d are included and come with dedicated commentaries from the director. A making-of documentary for Latvian TV details Flow\u2019s production and celebrates its success. The disc is rounded out by an unused-shot reel (with commentary by Zilbalodis) and some trailers and teasers, and in the accompanying booklet essay, critic Nicolas Rapold provides an overview of Zilbalodis\u2019s career and connects the visual language of Flow to other movies, animated and live-action, centered around animals.<\/p>\n Overall<\/p>\n Gints Zilbalodis\u2019s critical and commercial darling gets instantly enshrined in the Criterion Collection with a flawless transfer and a bevy of bonus features.<\/p>\n Score:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u00a0Director: Gints Zilbalodis \u00a0Screenwriter: Gints Zilbalodis, Mat\u012bss Ka\u017ea \u00a0Distributor: The Criterion Collection \u00a0Running Time: 85 min \u00a0Rating: NR \u00a0Year: 2024 \u00a0Release Date: September 23, 2025 \u00a0Buy: Video<\/a> Since 2001, we’ve brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we\u2019re committed to keeping our content free and accessible\u2014meaning no paywalls or fees.<\/p>\n If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon<\/a> or making a donation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"None of the characters in Latvian animator Gints Zilbalodis\u2019s poignant, vividly realized Flow utter a single word. 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