Flow (Straume) (2024)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family
Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Writers: Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza
Synopsis: A solitary cat finds its world turned upside down when a great flood devastates its home. Seeking refuge on a boat filled with a diverse group of animals, the cat must learn to navigate its differences with the other species to survive and find unity amidst chaos.
This visually stunning animated film explores themes of cooperation, resilience, and the power of unlikely friendships in the face of adversity.
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The film contains no dialogue. The following is the detailed plot and uncludes spoilers:
A black cat wanders through a forest when a pack of dogs arrive by the river to catch fish. When two of the dogs fight over a fish, the cat takes the fish and is immediately chased by the dogs. The cat loses the dogs, but notices a deer stampede before it is caught by a tsunami. The cat and the dogs manage to survive the flood by reaching higher ground. A yellow Labrador Retriever follows the cat to an abandoned cabin decorated with wooden cat sculptures before they both notice the water level rising rapidly and the Labrador joins the other dogs on a boat. With the cabin consumed by the flood, the cat climbs atop a giant cat statue until the waters reach the top of the statue’s head. As the rising water completely submerges the statue, the cat jumps into an approaching sailboat with a capybara aboard.
The next morning, as the boat sails through a partially submerged forest, the cat goes overboard while trying to avoid a white secretarybird, but it begins to sink underwater. A whale saves it from drowning, but the secretarybird grabs the cat before it frees itself and lands back on the boat, having caught a glimpse of massive stone pillars in the distance during the flight. As the water level continues to rise, the capybara invites a ring-tailed lemur to hop aboard with its basket of junk.
In a nightmare, the cat is surrounded in a herd of deer circling it, while the massive stone pillars loom in the distance before a tsunami floods the scene. Later that day, the three animals land on shore and are joined by the Labrador. They encounter a flock of secretarybirds that show hostility towards them, causing the cat to run away before the flock corners it. The secretarybird that first encountered the cat pleads with the leader to spare its life, only to lose in a duel and have its wing broken before the flock abandons it. Having lost its ability to fly, the secretarybird joins the other animals aboard the boat.
The next day, the animals arrive at a half-submerged city, set near the base of the giant stone pillars. The animals begin to argue with each other after the secretarybird kicks the lemur’s glass float overboard until the boat gets stuck on a tree. The boat is freed after the whale breaches near them. After learning from the capybara, the cat improves its ability to swim to catch fish on its own and feed the rest of the crew. Later, the animals see the other dogs stranded in a bell tower. The secretarybird initially refuses to head for the dogs, but upon the cat giving its approval, the secretarybird begrudgingly lets the capybara take control of the boat and rescue the dogs. As the boat sails through the formation of massive stone pillars during a heavy storm, the secretarybird leaves, having regained its ability to fly. The cat once again falls overboard, but it swims ashore and climbs to the top of one of the pillars, where it meets up with the secretarybird. They are both suddenly lifted up in the air by a bright light above them, but the cat is released back on the ground while the secretarybird flies towards the light, and disappears.
The cat tries to swim back to the boat but it is too far. However, the cat manages to find the glass float and jump on it to stay afloat. Suddenly, the water level rapidly drops as a fault line drains the ocean. After much time roaming through the forest, the cat is reunited with the lemur and is led to the boat hanging on a tree. The dogs jump off the boat, but just as the capybara is about to exit, the tree begins to give in to the weight of the boat. The cat passes the boat’s rope to the lemur and dogs, who work together to pull the boat towards them, but the dogs abandon the Labrador and its friends when a rabbit passes by them. The capybara and the cat manage to jump off before the boat and the tree fall off the cliff. Just as the crew celebrates, another deer stampede appears. The cat, assuming they are once again fleeing from floodwaters, follows, before seeing the whale dying from being beached in the forest. The cat comforts the whale before the capybara, Labrador, and lemur reunite with the cat and they look at their reflection in a puddle of water – the ripples in the water calming as they come into view and join the cat.
In a post-credits sequence, the whale is seen surfacing on the ocean.
