The protagonist of the award-winning animated film “Flow” is a black cat who lives alone in a cozy home, with no care in the world.It’s comfortable stretching its paws — like only cats can — napping on a warm bed, purring, and living a domestic cat’s life.
But suddenly, the world around it drastically changes.
During a walk outside, the cat sees scores of animals running its way.It gets caught up in a stampede of animals. Moments later, a tidal wave comes barreling down, destroying everything in its path.
It’s a gigantic flood.
Somehow, the cat survives the tsunami, but water levels keep rising even in the quiet that follows the storm. At the last possible moment, the cat takes a leap of faith into a boat inhabited by a wise capybara that looks like a huge guinea pig.
Later, a motley crew of other animals joins them as they navigate this flooded world.
Despite its modest budget and coming from a small independent studio, it’s already won a Golden Globe and is generating serious Oscar buzz.
Matīss Kaža, the film’s co-writer and producer, explained that they wanted the animals to act naturally like real ones would in the wild, but also in a way that’s relatable to us humans.
“There’s this element of choice that is characteristic of humans, and they do make choices, and that’s what makes them characters right, instead of just animals observed in National Geographic documentaries,” Kaža said. “And that’s where the storytelling requirements come in; like they have to steer the boat and make choices related to personalities.”
Throughout the film, the black cat shows its personality nonverbally. It is cautious, curious, clever and agile.
But the cat is also a cat.
“The cat is such a good lead character because it can be a bit of an asshole, and the audience will forgive it because it’s a cat, and cats kind of behave in this bit of a snobbish standpoint,” said Kaža.
What makes “Flow” unique among animated movies, especially compared to most you’ll see in theaters, is that it differs from “the sort of Madagascar type of movie where animals walk on two feet, sing and dance, and talk in human voices,” he said.
“We choose not to anthropomorphize them in that sense. We keep their respective movements and their voices for the most part.”
Matīss Kaža, co-writer and producer of the Latvian animated film “Flow”
All the animal sounds in the movie are real, either recorded for the film or taken from audio libraries.
But there is one exception: the capybara. It doesn’t sound like an actual capybara.
“We tried to record a real capybara at a zoo, but it was so high pitched the noise that it made, so it didn’t fit this calm hippy-like character, so we ended up casting a baby camel to play the role of the capybara,” Kaža explained.
In the film, the crew of animals — a cat, dog, lemur, bird and capybara — navigate a dangerous world and learn to cooperate despite their clashing personalities.
Kaža said he relates to the “hippy-like” capybara, but also the movie’s universal messages.
“It’s a journey that is all about dealing with fear, and the production process of this film was a time of great fear for all of us,” he said. “First of all, there was the Covid pandemic, and then it was the war in Ukraine, and of course this sense of the unknown, that this next big wave can come at any time, and this sense of unpredictability.”
Five years after production began, Kaža says been overwhelmed by how it’s been received worldwide, especially back in Latvia.
“In Latvia, this kind of support is usually given to the national hockey team, and now we understand how they feel. Even when walking down the street, we get a lot of congratulations and happy smiles,” he said.
“Flow” is up for two Academy Awards — Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature.
If it wins, it will become the first Latvian film to be awarded an Oscar, and many people in Latvia and worldwide will be rooting for the little black cat.