Waterworld

The conditions could not have been worse.

I rarely watch movies on airplanes, as I don’t think it’s fair to shoehorn a filmmaker’s work into those tiny screens in front of my face.

And to be honest, I’m usually either so frightened of flying or so stoned on Xanax to appreciate what I’m watching.

But during my recent flight home from Denver, I had just the right amount of narcotics in my system where I was calm without being comatose.

I shelled out 8 bucks for a pair of headphones, checked out the cinematic bill of fare and came across Flow, an absolutely beautiful animated film that won the Academy Award for best animated feature, while also being nominated for best international feature—the first film from Latvia to do so.

The film, which also won a Golden Globe Award, is a kind of visual poem that features no dialog as it tells the story of a cat trying to survive in some post-apocalyptic world that has been devastated by a great flood.

The fact that I was able to lose myself in this movie under such hideous circumstances is a testament to the filmmaker’s incredible skill.

This flick had me in tears, which may not sound like much given my much-deserved reputation as a shameless weeper, but, honestly, this thing is a minor miracle.

I’ve often come close to crying on an airplane, but that’s usually due to my stark terror of leaving terra firma.

Rock the Boat

But don’t just take my word for it.

Bill Hader, who gave us the wonderful character Stefon on Saturday Night Light, said Flow was favorite film of 2024, adding that he watched it three times and that it made him want to get a cat--despite being allergic to them.

Flow was directed and co-written by the Latvian filmmaker, animator and composer Gints Zilbalodis. Production started in 2019 and lasted five-and-a-half years.

Zilbalodis said he was inspired by the French filmmaker Jacques Tati and an anime series called Future Conan Boy.

The entire movie has been created and rendered only using the free and open-source software Blender.

The budget of the film was so tight, there are no deleted scenes from the film, so that every scene produced is in the final cut of the movie.

It is very difficult to describe the film since the visuals are so powerful, so all I can say is to just see it and let the magic flow through you.

The film was so popular in Lativa that a statue of the cat from was installed in the country’s capital city of Riga.

I fully intend to see this film on my widescreen at the earliest opportunity, although I wish I had seen it in a theater—something I haven’t done in years.

While Flow features only animals, the film has a vital message for human beings.

At the end of this Oscar acceptance speech, Zilbalodis, who was named 2024's “Riga Citizen of the Year” said, “yeah, we're all in the same boat. We must find ways to overcome our differences and work together.”

If only…