A layered, gorgeous, and delightful film Director: Gints Zilbalodis Flow premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread acclaim — and...
A layered, gorgeous, and delightful film
Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Flow premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread acclaim — and rightfully so. Flow packs something for everyone — quite similar to the early Pixar films. It has a social theme for adults to consider and enough cuteness for kids to enjoy. It sure deserves the Oscar for Best Animated Feature it bagged on Monday.
Made entirely inside Blender, Flow might not be technically perfect like any big animation studio, but it does have the honesty, unlike most animation studios (something which they all possessed in the beginning, but which has faded over the years). Flow is the best animated film from a critical point of view.
It’s excellently directed, and even though it was made inside free software, it looks gorgeous. The lighting looks fantastic and makes every scene a treat to the eyes; some shots are breathtaking (those who have watched the film will know what I’m referring to). The film is definitely a product of love, and it shows. Every shot is important to the film; not a single thing is unnecessary — everything contributes to the bigger picture.
The film feels like a fresh breath of air in the world of corporate-churned-out animated films (which are, almost always, a pain to sit through); it has everything an animated film requires: whimsical elements, a moral, adorable characters, and an interesting setting.
Adding no dialogues and no human characters does seem like a bold choice, but it works extremely well: the animals feel authentic, and it never feels like it’s some sort of a grotesque culmination of human-fantasy and animals. The film, eventually, is about adapting (at least at the surface level). The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has ceased to exist, and all that is left are helpless animals, surrounded by humongous cat shrines: an allegory for climatic issues in the world right now? Perhaps.
The film is a delightful watch, and there are many ways to enjoy this — you could either try to analyze this or just watch it and enjoy the ride — either way, it’ll be an excellent watch and definitely one of the best films of 2024.
-Ravit
Mishra
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