Flow (Latvian: Straume) is a 2024 animated independent fantasy adventure film directed by Gints Zilbalodis and written by Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža.[1] The film is notable for being completely rendered on the free and open-source software Blender and containing no dialogue.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
| Flow | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Latvian | Straume |
| Directed by | Gints Zilbalodis[1] |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Edited by | Gints Zilbalodis |
| Music by |
|
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | UFO Distribution (France) |
Release dates | |
Running time | 85 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
|
| Budget | €3.5 million[3] |
| Box office | US$6.8 million[4] |
Upon premiering at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the film received critical acclaim and won numerous film and animation awards, including the Best Animated Film awards at the European Film Awards,[12] the New York Film Critics Circle Awards,[13] the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards,[14] the National Board of Review Awards,[15] and the 82nd Golden Globe Awards.[16] The film was selected as the Latvian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.[17]
Plot
editA black cat wanders through a forest when a pack of dogs arrive by the river to catch fish. When two of the dogs fight over a fish, the cat takes the fish and is immediately chased by the dogs. The cat loses the dogs, but notices a deer stampede before it is caught by a tsunami. The cat and the dogs manage to survive the flood by reaching higher ground. A yellow Labrador Retriever follows the cat to an abandoned cabin decorated with wooden cat sculptures before they both notice the water level rising rapidly and the Labrador joins the other dogs on a boat. With the cabin consumed by the flood, the cat climbs atop a giant cat statue until the waters reach the top of the statue's head. As the rising water completely submerges the statue, the cat jumps into an approaching sailboat with a capybara aboard.
The next morning, as the boat sails through a partially submerged forest, the cat goes overboard while trying to avoid a white secretarybird, but it begins to sink underwater. A whale saves it from drowning, but the secretarybird grabs the cat before it frees itself and lands back on the boat, having caught a glimpse of massive stone pillars in the distance during the flight. As the water level continues to rise, the capybara invites a ring-tailed lemur to hop aboard with its basket of junk. In a nightmare, the cat is surrounded in a herd of deer circling it, while the massive stone pillars loom in the distance before a tsunami floods the scene. Later that day, the three animals land on shore and are joined by the Labrador. They encounter a flock of secretarybirds that show hostility towards them, causing the cat to run away before the flock corners it. The secretarybird that first encountered the cat pleads with the leader to spare its life, only to lose in a duel and have its wing broken before the flock abandons it. Having lost its ability to fly, the secretarybird joins the other animals aboard the boat.
The next day, the animals arrive at a half-submerged city, set near the base of the giant stone pillars. The animals begin to argue with each other after the secretarybird kicks the lemur's glass float overboard until the boat gets stuck on a tree. The boat is freed after the whale breaches near them. After learning from the capybara, the cat improves its ability to swim to catch fish on its own and feed the rest of the crew. Later, the animals see the other dogs stranded in a bell tower. The secretarybird initially refuses to head for the dogs, but upon the cat giving its approval, the secretarybird begrudgingly lets the capybara take control of the boat and rescue the dogs. As the boat sails through the formation of massive stone pillars during a heavy storm, the secretarybird leaves, having regained its ability to fly. The cat once again falls overboard, but it swims ashore and climbs to the top of one of the pillars, where it meets up with the secretarybird. They are both suddenly lifted up in the air by a bright light above them, but the cat is released back on the ground while the secretarybird flies towards the light, and disappears.
The cat tries to swim back to the boat but it is too far. However, the cat manages to find the glass float and jump on it to stay afloat. Suddenly, the water level rapidly drops as a fault line drains the ocean. After much time roaming through the forest, the cat is reunited with the lemur and is led to the boat hanging on a tree. The dogs jump off the boat, but just as the capybara is about to exit, the tree begins to give in to the weight of the boat. The cat passes the boat's rope to the lemur and dogs, who work together to pull the boat towards them, but the dogs abandon the Labrador and its friends when a rabbit passes by them. The capybara and the cat manage to jump off before the boat and the tree fall off the cliff. Just as the crew celebrates, another deer stampede appears. The cat, assuming they are once again fleeing from floodwaters, follows, before seeing the whale dying from being beached in the forest. The cat comforts the whale before the capybara, Labrador, and lemur reunite with the cat and they look at their reflection in a puddle of water.
In a post-credits sequence, the whale is seen surfacing on the ocean.
Production
editIn 2022, while Flow was still in development, materials from the film were presented at that year's Cartoon Movie forum in Bordeaux.[18] The film was produced with financial support from the National Film Centre of Latvia, the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, ARTE France, Eurimages, RTBF, and the Belgian Tax Shelter.[2] Animation for the film was completed in France and Belgium.[2]
Sound designer Gurwal Coïc-Gallas used actual animal sounds for each character depicted in the film; the only exception was the capybara. As actual capybara sounds were too high-pitched and unpleasant, Coïc-Gallas used the sounds of a baby camel instead.[19][20][21][22]
Music
edit| Flow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Gints Zilbalodis and Rihards Zaļupe | |
| Released | 1 November 2024 |
| Genre | Film score |
| Length | 53:51 |
| Label | Milan |
| Producer | Gints Zilbalodis |
The film's soundtrack was composed by Zilbalodis and Rihards Zaļupe, and was released on streaming media platforms by Milan Records on 1 November 2024.[23][24]
All tracks are written by Gints Zilbalodis and Rihards Zaļupe.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Home" | 2:04 |
| 2. | "Dog Chase" | 1:34 |
| 3. | "Panic" | 0:59 |
| 4. | "Flood" | 5:24 |
| 5. | "Capybara" | 0:48 |
| 6. | "Unexpected Visitor" | 0:32 |
| 7. | "Lemur" | 2:07 |
| 8. | "Bananas" | 1:27 |
| 9. | "Deer Cyclone" | 1:23 |
| 10. | "Windmill Island" | 2:11 |
| 11. | "Birds" | 3:45 |
| 12. | "Outcast" | 2:26 |
| 13. | "Showing Off" | 0:59 |
| 14. | "Abandoned City" | 2:24 |
| 15. | "Splash" | 1:38 |
| 16. | "Fishing" | 3:05 |
| 17. | "Storm" | 2:03 |
| 18. | "Flow Away" | 4:33 |
| 19. | "Forest Emerging" | 1:55 |
| 20. | "Amphitheater" | 1:51 |
| 21. | "Following" | 3:36 |
| 22. | "Reflection" | 3:29 |
| 23. | "Acceptance" | 2:43 |
| Total length: | 53:51 | |
Release
editFlow was selected to premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on 22 May 2024.[2] The film screened at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it was awarded the Jury Award, the Audience Award, and the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution in the Feature Film category.[25] Flow was submitted to the 2024 Ottawa International Animation Festival, where it received the Grand Prize for Feature Animation.[26] The film was also screened at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.[27] The film was invited to 'Open Cinema' at the 29th Busan International Film Festival and was screened at the outdoor theater in October 2024.[28]
UFO Distribution released the film theatrically in France on 30 October 2024.[29] Janus Films and Sideshow distributed the film in the United States through a limited release in New York and Los Angeles on 22 November 2024, followed by a wider national release on 6 December 2024.[30][31] Since the film's release in Latvia on 28 August 2024, it has sold over 100,000 tickets, becoming one of the most popular domestic films of the country.[32] It also became Janus Films' highest grossing film in the United States with $2.6 million in ticket sales. [33]Madman Entertainment will release the film theatrically in Australia on 20 March 2025.[34]
Reception
editCritical response
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 107 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Thanks to its innovative animation and mature themes, going with this Flow proves irresistible."[35] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[36]
Writing for The New York Times, Calum Marsh noted that "the animals act like real animals, not like cartoons or humans, and that restraint gives their adventure an authenticity that, in moments of both delight and peril, makes the emotion that much more powerful."[37] Jake Coyle of the Associated Press called Flow the best animated film of 2024, writing that the "computer generated animation adds to its dreamy, curiously real surrealism."[38]
Accolades
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Flow". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d Abbatescianni, Davide (3 May 2024). "Gints Zilbalodis's sophomore feature, Flow, set to world-premiere in Cannes' Un Certain Regard". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ Zahed, Ramin. "Flow Director Gints Zilbalodis Sets Adventure Adrift in an Animal Waterworld". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ "Flow (2024)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
- ^ "The Animation of Flow". Blender Foundation. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ "Flow (2024): The Future of 3D Animation Cinema on Blender". Hollymotion. 30 September 2024. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ Foley, Joe (15 September 2024). "One of year's best animated films was entirely made in Blender". Creative Bloq. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ Hou, Rita (13 September 2024). "Check out a Movie Created & Rendered Entirely in Blender". 80 Level. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ "Animated Features Flow, The Most Precious of Cargoes Added to Cannes Selection". Animation Magazine. 22 April 2024. Archived from the original on 11 November 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Aguilar, Carlos (22 November 2024). "Creating New Cinematic Languages, Without Words". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Shachat, Sarah (29 November 2024). "'Flow' Doesn't Have Dialogue — But Its Sound Design Speaks Volumes". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Celebrating the best of European Cinema". European Film Academy. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ a b Ford, Rebecca (3 December 2024). "The Brutalist Tops NYFCC Awards". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ a b Davis, Clayton (8 December 2024). "Anora Nabs Best Picture at L.A. Film Critics Awards, Marianne Jean-Baptiste Makes History With Lead Win (Full Winners List)". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ a b "2024 Archives". National Board of Review. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Winners & Nominees". Golden Globe Foundation. 5 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott. "Oscars 2025: Latvia Picks Animated Flow for International Feature Race". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (16 March 2022). "Gints Zilbalodis' Flow and Edmunds Jansons' Born Happy form the Latvian contingent at this year's Cartoon Movie". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ Rengifo, Alci (22 November 2024). "Flow Filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis on His Wonderfully Immersive Ecological Fable About Solidarity". Entertainment Voice. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ Shachat, Sarah (29 November 2024). "Flow Doesn't Have Dialogue — But Its Sound Design Speaks Volumes". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ Blauvelt, Christian (4 December 2024). "Watch the Director of Flow Go Behind the Scenes of the Best Animated Movie of the Year". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ Ferguson, David (5 December 2024). "Animated Movie Review: Flow". Red Carpet Crash. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "Flow - Soundtrack". Milan Records. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ "Flow Soundtrack Album Released". Film Music Reporter. 1 November 2024. Archived from the original on 30 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ a b Lang, Jamie (15 June 2024). "Memoir of a Snail, Flow Split Feature Honors at Annecy, Percebes Wins Best Short". Variety. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Flow and La Voix des Sirènes make waves at OIAF, winning top prizes" (PDF). Ottawa International Animation Festival. 28 September 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ "Flow". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Frater, Patrick (3 September 2024). "Busan Film Festival Sets Park Chan-wook Scripted Netflix Title Uprising as Opener, Expands Program Despite Slashed Funding". Variety. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "Les distributeurs ajustent leurs line-ups". Boxoffice Pro (in French). 7 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ Davis, Clayton (13 August 2024). "Flow, Animated Feature Oscar Contender and Annecy Winner, Lands Fall Release Date (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ Amidi, Amid (1 October 2024). "Flow, An Edge-Of-Your-Seat Survival Film, Gets U.S. Trailer, Release Date". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "Filmai Straume – 100 000 skatītāju Latvijā un balva Losandželosā". Ministry of Culture of Latvia. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
- ^ "Indies Surge In Heart Of Awards Season Ahead Of Golden Globes, Oscar Nominations – Specialty Box Office". Retrieved 5 January 2025.
- ^ "Flow - In Cinemas March 20". Madman Entertainment. Archived from the original on 23 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ Flow at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "Flow". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Marsh, Calum (21 November 2024). "Flow Review: A Cat's Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Coyle, Jake (6 December 2024). "Movie Review: A wordless Latvian cat parable about climate change is the year's best animated movie". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Vlessing, Etan. "Cannes Adds Michel Hazanavicius, Mohammad Rasoulof, Emanuel Parvu Titles to Official Competition". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Sorpresas y Aplausos Toman la Clausura de la Edición 39 del Festival International de Cine en Guadalajara". Guadalajara International Film Festival. 16 June 2024. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ "Flow, Memoir of a Snail Take Top Prizes at Animation Is Film Festivals". Variety. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ "And Their Children After Them wins the Golden Giraldillo at the Seville European Film Festival". Seville European Film Festival. 16 November 2024. Archived from the original on 22 December 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ Davis, Clayton (4 December 2024). "Wicked Named Best Picture by National Board of Review, Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman Among Acting Winners". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott (9 October 2024). "European Animated Film Nominations Unveiled". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ Pond, Steve (25 November 2024). "Wicked Leads Nominations for Astra Film Awards". TheWrap. Archived from the original on 26 November 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ "BSFC Names Anora Best Film of 2024". Boston Society of Film Critics. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "2024 WAFCA Award Winners". WAFCA. 8 December 2024. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "2024 San Diego Film Critics Society Award Winners". San Diego Film Critics Society. 9 December 2024. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
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- ^ "Bay Area critics pick 'Anora' as best picture of 2024, Colman Domingo as best actor". San Francisco Chronicle Datebook. 15 December 2024. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Annual StLFCA Awards". St. Louis Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Nickel Boys Leads 2024 TFCA Awards Winners". Toronto Film Critics Association. 15 December 2024. Archived from the original on 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
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- ^ Jorgenson, Todd (18 December 2024). "DFW Film Critics Name Anora Best Picture of 2024". Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
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- ^ Zahed, Ramin (9 December 2024). "Six Animated Movies Are Nominated for the 2025 Golden Globes Awards". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ France, Lisa Respers (5 January 2025). "See who won at the Golden Globes". CNN. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
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External links
edit- Official website (Latvia)
- Official website (United States)
- Flow at IMDb
- Official Screenplay Archived January 5, 2025, at the Wayback Machine
