(WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR FLOW. IT IS ADVISED YOU WATCH THE FILM FIRST BEFORE READING.)
You may or may not have heard about a new animated indie film that has recently been released called Flow. It’s a one hour film about a feeble black cat trying to survive the apocalyptic disasters occurring by the second, as well as other threats - fellow animals.
Over the winter break, me, my siblings, and my cousins from California visited a theatre to watch this film. I had no idea what the film was about by then. At first, I was disinterested. I wanted to get out of the room, go home, and continue spending time with my cousins. That was only because I didn’t know what I was in for. And after I left the theatre, my mind was completely changed.
Flow gave such a moving aura I couldn’t describe. The idea that it takes place in what appears to be a post apocalyptic landscape where humans have been wiped out completely inspires me. In the film, you can see ancient statues just randomly placed around the surface. Some small, some gargantuan, standing amidst the clouds and fog. The film itself doesn’t tell you why there are remnants of manmade structures all scattered around the vast forest and mountains, so it’s really up to the audience to make their interpretations on where the film takes place, like using context clues to figure out what's going on in a book. Just…go see for yourself. You’ll need to watch the movie in order to understand.
Long story short, the main character is a cat. He lives in an abandoned house, looking much like a human’s - but there is no sign of human life. After he loses his home to a flood, he eventually teams up with an unlikely group of animals as they band together to put their wits against the dreadful cycle of this world with no order. They traverse through ancient monuments and places, seeing things they have never seen before, embarking on a journey to make their way to an unknown destination in a fallen threshold filled with perilous aspects.
So that’s pretty much the entire premise of the movie. In this article, I’ll talk about my interpretations and opinions on the film, Flow. I’ll try my best to break the movie down in my own words. And, just a warning, this article will make no sense unless you watch the film yourself.
So hold on tight, and today, I’ll discuss everything about the film, Flow.
Interpretations and Metaphors
While I was watching the film, I immediately knew there was some metaphorical meaning behind the plot. I realized that the cat, capybara, dog, lemur, and bird had all lost something important to them in their lives.
For instance, the cat had lost its home due to the flood. The dog had been separated from its pack, but not until very later in the film did it find its pack again while they were going to the tall mountains in the boat. The lemur had lost its home like the cat as well as all the treasures it stashed there, the bird had lost the ability to fly due to being betrayed by its own group of fellow birds, but the capybara really didn’t lose anything.
I guess you could say that the capybara is maybe a representation of how if you do lose something in life, you should just deal with it instead of stressing about it for days on end. The capybara normally just slept and ignored all the things the characters lost, including himself. Another one of these metaphors does appear when the cat reaches the top of the mountain. Up on the mountain, the cat finds the bird, as before all of this, the bird left the boat the animals were all stranded on and flew all the way to the mountain, causing the cat to go after the bird on the boat because of the cat’s friendship with the bird.
And when the cat does get to the top, the bird mystically ascends into the enchanting veil and disappears - most likely dead, somehow. That appeared to me as some metaphor of losing something that meant so much to you in life, like a family member, as the cat was very depressed from that point. The bird and cat had made a great bond before all of this, as the bird tried to save the cat from being killed multiple times, and the cat and bird had a very common relation to each other.
We could also see the cat questioning who he was in the beginning of the film and multiple parts throughout the film when he stared into the tiny stream. This could be a representation of how many people in life wonder who they are, trying out different activities to discover what they specialize in, but mostly fail, causing them to lose self confidence. And another metaphor could be the flood and the multiple scenes when the cat plunges itself into the water.
My interpretation of the cat diving into the water on multiple occasions could be learning to deal with difficulties in life. When the cat goes into the vast body of water for the first time, the cat is scared, worried, and unsure. But later on, after learning how to swim and dealing with the scary creatures under the surface, the cat eventually becomes used to it, just like how with practice, we can do better. This is a nice reminder that you should always remain persistent and give things a chance in life to not miss out on opportunities. When you fail, learn from your mistakes, pick yourself back up, and move on.
The movie is all about loss, and dealing with horrible things that occur in life. So, my final interpretation is that when things are lost, we should appreciate and cherish the time we spent with them instead of weeping about them, and learn from our mistakes and build off of them. These are very important life lessons we should know as humans.
Animation, Graphics, and Sound Effects
A lot of dedication was put into the film. I mean, when I first saw the graphics and procedural walking animations, I knew great animators were behind the scenes. The animators have perfectly captured the instincts and behaviors of each of the animals in the movie. The animators were able to perfectly convey the animals' intentions, how each of the creatures move and run, and their facial expressions, which was very significant for a good animated film. They basically told us the story through emotions.
The quality of the film looks like something out of a realistic game engine. The hyper realistic shading and lighting was very easing and appealing to my eye, and the camera movement just made it better. The sound effects were very delightful, being accurately realistic as well as the amplification of the sound matching the environment. Every single detail, no matter how small, contributed to the film’s quality.
One thing they could have done better was maybe the water animation. Not the way the water flows in general, but maybe the splashes and ambience. I also realized the animals would be completely dry after exiting out of the water with no droplets or anything of the sort, which kind of ruined the way everything was constructed so smoothly, thus breaking my expectations of the way the water was constructed throughout the film. One thing that could make these situations more improved is that they could have amplified the underwater ambience, and maybe add some bubbles and water particles to the scenes where the cat submerges inside the water.
Soundtrack
The best part (in my opinion) was easily the soundtrack. The music was so compelling and tragic, and it really matched the vibe the entire movie gave off. This is a world that wants to die but can’t, where creatures are just trying to live another day with death around the corner, casting an ominous and distant ambience. You could also hear some instruments used in the popular game Minecraft’s OST, which really caught my attention. One of my cousins mentioned this and I did recognize it. (I love Minecraft!)
This music basically makes the entire film self explanatory. Maybe you’ll live another day, but the chances are very slim. It makes you feel like you are important, but then, as the harmonious strum of low - pitched hums play, it reminds you that you are a tiny speck in the giant omni-verse, a tiny cog in the cycle of life as something beyond your comprehension enters into view. Something may or may not lie at the edge of the omni-verse, and if we do one day find it, we discover that everything that has been created is giant.
The composers were able to tell a story without words. It reminds us of how big the world is and how insignificant the world really is, or in fact - how big everything is when put to comparison, just like how we believe we are dominant, but then, the vast open space opens itself up for us to gaze at. Just like how we can compare us humans to a feeble mere speck of sand.
Final Thoughts and Rating
In conclusion, Flow is a great film, especially for the kids of the future. It perfectly captures amazing animation to go along with realistic lighting, as well as a sad metaphor that should be more appreciated by humanity hidden within the plot of the film.
If I had to rate this film from 1-10, I would rate it somewhere around 9.7/10. Do I recommend it? Yes, absolutely, yes. Go watch it RIGHT now. Trust me, you’ll like it. People may have different opinions on the film, and this is my opinion. Not everything I explained is true to other people, but to me it is. Thanks for reading!