‘Radical’ silent animated film Flow finally getting UK release after historic Oscar win

Latvian animated feature Flow has made Oscars history as the first Academy Award win ever for the country.

The film had been considered a real contender in a tough category after impressing critics with its heartfelt plot set in a dystopian world in the run-up to the 2025 awards season.

The silent movie, from ‘visionary director’ Gints Zilbalodis, follows a diverse crew of animals – a cat, a capybara and some dogs to name a few – who must work together to survive after getting caught up in a cataclysmic flood.

The moving storyline and stirring animation has had nothing but rave reviews from critics, receiving a massive 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with them already hailing it as the next animation classic.

And it seems that Oscars voters agreed, awarding it the best animated feature prize ahead of its competitors The Wild Robot, Memoir of a Snail, Inside Out 2 and UK hope, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

Director Zilbalodis, 30, who started working on the film in 2019 after finishing his debut film Away and used the free and open-source software Blender, remarked of the resonance of Flow’s storyline as he picked up the award: ‘We are all in the same boat and must overcome our differences to find ways to work together.’

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The country has previously submitted 15 different films for the category, which have all been unsuccessful and never made it to the nomination stage.

Flow, which also won the Golden Globe in another first for Latvia, has been a box office hit too, surpassing $20million (£15.7m) at the box office last month, from a small budget of just €3.5m (£2.89m), according to Variety.

It also holds the record for the most movie tickets sold in Latvian history.

Acknowledging his nation’s pride in his work, Zilbalodis told Metro in an interview last month: ‘It is the first time that a film from Latvia has had any of this recognition, a lot of people are very excited. We had the Golden Globe trophy exhibited at the National Museum of Art. People are lining up for an hour just to see it. So it’s pretty crazy back home.’

But the recognition goes far beyond Latvia’s borders, to which the hugely positive reviews Flow has achieved across the board can attest.

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‘It’s not just a supreme example of a movie kids will love that adults will too. With its wordlessness, this is a film that could play in any country of the world, its capacity to reach literally everyone limitless.

‘And yet it’s radical while being as accessible as any animated film could ever be,’ IndieWire wrote in their top-tier review.

Meanwhile, Hollywood Reporter praised the film’s ability to ‘shatter your heart then make it whole again’.

‘Told entirely without dialogue, this tale of a cat that evolves from self-preservation to solidarity with a motley crew of other species is something quite special,’ the critic added.

Film critic Orion’s Shoulder echoed: ‘Flow is truly epic, and while it only momentarily steps into the mystical, it is magical throughout.’

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Elsewhere, Variety added that ‘animal-loving viewers will bond almost instantly with the cat and its motley companions’.

Flow was showcased at the Cannes Film Festival in May last year, where it started building up word-of-mouth praise, as well as screening during the London Film Festival in October.

In a radio interview during the festival, Zilbalodis opened up about the message behind the movie.

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‘I have my own idea of what the film means, but it’s hard to explain in words since the film has no words. I’d say that it’s important to trust others but stay independent at the same time,’ he told Fred FM.

It feels like its been a long wait for UK film fans to get to watch Flow, but the film has secured an international release and will be out in cinemas later this month.

March 21 is the date for people to add to their calendar to be among the first to watch this historic, Oscar-winning film.

Flow will arrive in UK cinemas on March 21, 2025.

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