Flow

In a world on the brink of apocalypse thanks to the negligence of its long-gone human overlords, we find one solitary black cat. Surrounded by structures of its own likeness, we come to understand that this feline had once belonged to a sculptor, who, like the rest of human life, has succumbed to the plight of some natural disaster. As apocalyptic waters begin to swirl, Flow’s hero must flee to higher ground, finding floating salvation in a boat and a capybara. Grappling with the uncertainty of their new transient home, the unlikely pair collect a motley crew of animal companions – an exuberant dog, a neurotic lemur, and an exiled secretary bird – all striving to coexist in an apocalyptic realm of ever-escalating peril.

So often in animated films, anthropomorphisation serves as a mirror, reflecting the imperfections of humanity in a kooky cast of animal hybrids. In Flow, director Gints Zilbalodis instead resigns his characters to their natural instincts, and simply observes the unbridled resilience of animals as the world ends. As a shared threat dismantles the natural order, Flow’s creature comrades are forced to work together, raising the question of whether humanity would prove as cooperative in the face of a similar fate.

Gints’ environmental parable uses real-life animal actors and a dreamy, self-composed soundtrack to create an authentic, wordless world beyond comprehension. The film’s inclusive, kinetic language is a reflection of the animals themselves, joined in their survival as a unified collective of enduring species. 

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Released 21 Mar by Curzon; certificate U