The animated film “Flow,” which was released to French audiences in November 2024 and United States audiences on Dec. 6, 2024, received a Golden Globe for its animation on Friday, Jan. 3.
The story of the movie surrounds an unnamed black cat who lives in a world that humans have vanished from, for reasons not shown in the film. He is constantly threatened by the other animals that live in the same area as him, yet finds solace in an abandoned house where he can be alone.
One day, though, massive amounts of rain cause flooding, destroying the entire forest that the cat and other animals call home. The animals are forced to flee in the hopes of finding land not soaked by the rising floodwaters. The cat joins a capybara and a lemur on a boat, and the three of them, along with later stragglers such as a dog and a large bird, come together under the circumstances and form unlikely bonds with one another.
The storytelling is complemented with immersion into a beautiful fantasy landscape, with multiple scenes such as plains, forests and oceans that are each fascinating to look at and enjoy. It is as much a movie as it is an immersive, artful experience. The style of the animation is similar to that of a videogame, with the vectors having the same textures that one might see in stylized 3D indie games.
The movie does not feature any dialogue, yet the mannerisms of the animals provide enough nonverbal communication to get the intended emotions and themes across. It is a testament to the perseverance of individuals through hardship, as well as the friendships that individuals make with one another under extreme circumstances.
With its beautiful animation and equally as beautiful story, “Flow” performed extremely well at multiple film festivals before making it to the Golden Globes. It was first nominated for the French international film festival Cannes, where it will make its debut on Jan. 15. It has also received a variety of other accolades, including two critics choice nominations and a nomination for the international Goya awards.
The Golden Globes celebrates the best of the best in the world of filmmaking, including awards for the best actors and actresses, directors, scores and films in each genre. For “Flow,” the film garnered a win for best animation, a feat incredibly important for the future of animation and indie animation in particular.
The reason this win is as important as it is has to do with the composition of the art itself. The film was animated on a platform called Blender, which is a free and open source animation software commonly used by amateur animators and game designers. Whereas most animation companies, such as Pixar and Sony, are incredibly large teams with advanced software, “Flow” had only a small group of animators working on it from the production company Dream Well.
Despite this, the film was able to achieve a win at one of the largest awards shows in the world. While director Gints Zilbalodis is not an amateur himself, this victory opens the possibility for other indie designers to make their mark on Hollywood screens.
“Flow” is a delightful watch for both adult and child viewers alike. With a PG rating, the film does not contain any suggestive material or violence and overall, only has some mild action scenes. It is certainly one that the entire family can watch and enjoy, although some audiences may find it to be less interesting due to its lack of dialogue. It is, however, certainly worth the watch due to its beautiful animation and expressive themes.