Its no exaggeration to proclaim that Latvian animator Gints Zilbalodis’s stunnng new movie is THE best animated flm we have seen for several years. We are not alone in making this very declaration as FLOW is already nominated for a Golden Globe and a hot tip for an Academy Award too.

This poignant wordless story stars Cat living a carefree life in the wild when their very life is threatened with a post apocalyptic tsunami that covers almost the entire land. His unlikely escape route is provided by a deserted ship that he boards but is soon joined by an oddball group of animals, most of whom who are usually at each’s other’s throats,  but as a band of survivors will end up as friends.

Zilbalodis’s tale is not just a simple disaster movie that is a result of all our unheeded climate change, as it develops into a heartwarming fable, that in a series of misadventures, shows us how survival depends on letting our guards down and working together.   We see Cat the undisputed star of this adventure working their way through so many death defying moments  that at times has our stomach in our hearts thanks to amazing skills of Zilbalodis’s very talented director of photography that speeds along with all the action.

The reason for the lack of the usual plot details that puzzled us at the beginning soon dissolves as Zilbalodis’s drama should be pinned down by a time period : this is a tragedy that may have happened already, although our money is on the fact its all in our future.

We would love if this was a pointer to how animation will develop in the future, but as Pixar the main anime studio is currently working on Toy Story 5 (!) I sadly doubt it. 

Totally Unmissable