Latvia’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025

No Dialogue

For anyone who ever considered their ultimate dream cast to be a cat, a dog, a lemur, a secretary bird, and a capybara, those hopes will be finally fulfilled in Flow. Thrown together by circumstance in an eerily depopulated world, now submerged in ever-rising waters, the furry and feathered characters in Gints Zilbalodis’ imaginative, astonishing, and thoroughly engaging animated feature must find common ground if they hope to survive an unforgettable journey.

One of the many reasons Flow and its cast are so memorable is that the animals here remain animals. In place of the quippy banter and zany antics of the anthropomorphized critters family-film viewers may be used to comes a more naturalistic-minded approach that allows for more authentic forms of behaviour, movement, and communication. (That last matter is especially important for the characters who’d rather not get eaten.) And thanks to the level of nuance and detail that Zilbalodis and his team create, the individual personalities of these unlikely traveling companions still shine through, especially in the case of the ever-intrepid feline protagonist.

That emphasis on naturalism also adds great richness and wonder to Zilbalodis’ film, a richly visual blend of adventure tale and ecological parable that will enchant and enthrall viewers no matter what their age or animal preference.

—Jason Anderson, Toronto International Film Festival guide