TIFF 2024 Review: Flow – “a surreal almost dream-like quality to some of the sequences.”

In order for a black cat to be lucky enough to survive a flood it must partner with some unlikely animals.

 An independent-minded black cat is searching for food it gets chased by a pack of canines and encounters a herd of deer fleeing from a massive wave that submerges the forest floor but this is only a sign of things to come as the water level continues to climb.  The quest becomes to find either higher ground or a floatable mode of transportation which appears in the form of a wooden boat that has become the home of a sleepy capybara which is soon accompanied by the black cat, an exiled secretary bird, a hoarding lemur and a good-natured labrador.  The journey is not easy as Mother Nature offers storms as frequently as tranquillity and the animals range from a friendly majestic whale to a hostile flock of birds.

Even though the animation is stylized it is not hard not to think of them as animals because their behaviors and motivations feel authentic.  Making the storytelling even more difficult is the lack of narration and dialogue which adds to the believability factor and means that sound effects, animal noises and the musical score are critical in conveying the proper tone of a scene as well as the mindset.  Physical aspects like posture are relied upon heavily to get the proper nuances to reveal different personality traits. The boat setting brings to mind Life of Pi as the close living quarters allow for some in-depth character studies.

The environments have been done in a photorealistic manner and the amount of water simulations required would have broken a few render farms.  The below-the-surface shots of the schools of colour fish are not only hypnotic for the black cat but also for the viewer.   Some scary moments do exist but the narrative never falls into complete darkness as hope permeates through the sheer wonder of the world.  The title of the movie could also describe the camerawork as the movement is balletic, graceful and also propelling the story forward.  Cat imagery serves as a visual motif which adds a surreal almost dream-like quality to some of the sequences.

The 49th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 5-15, 2024, and for more information visit tiff.net.    

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.