Flow

No ebbs here: Flow is the real deal.

The fluidity of life runs through Flow, a marvelous animated movie from Latvia.

I found the simplicity of its story, about a group of animals in the wake of a great flood (and with no humans around, eliciting a discomfiting, postapocalyptic vibe), to be profoundly moving.

To viewers who’ve grown accustomed to the animation industry’s push toward photorealism, Flow may look unfinished, even cheap. But there’s beauty in its simplicity, as well as an invitation.

Latvia’s dark-horse entry in the animation Oscar sweeps doesn’t need dialogue (it has none) or A-list voices (also absent) to qualify as a thing of beauty as a cat and four fellow creatures carve out a future after a cataclysmic flood wipes out humanity.

An animated adventure with a gentle touch and a simple message, "Flow" is a bit like the story of Noah's Ark, minus Noah.

A universal ‘toon with enough broad action to entertain children of any age — and plenty of food for grownup thought.

If animated cats, dogs, and lemurs are your thing, Flow is the movie for you. Thankfully these animals don’t talk and it isn’t a musical.

...not only is the virtuosity of the artistic animation...admirable, but so is its moral relevance in times of distress. [Full review in Spanish]

...Flow is a spectacle that’s both visually stunning and offers a poignant take on hope...