At the recent Academy Awards, the Latvian film Flow, directed by Gints Zilbalodis and co-written by Matīss Kaža, achieved great success by winning the Best Animated Feature Film award. Nominated even in the category for the best international film, and as a winner of the Golden Globe, "Flow" achieved unexpected success, becoming the most watched in Latvian history and entering the selections of numerous festivals.

In the context of the awards, it is important to note that in the Best Animated Film category of the American Film Academy, the films "Inside Out 2" and "The Wild Robot" were also nominated. These films achieved greater commercial success and also had significantly larger budgets, and appeared more advanced from a technical standpoint. Zilbalodis made the entire film in the Blender program, which is free and available to everyone. The animation is 3D, and its simplicity is striking, which looks like indie games from Steam. The success of the film made in this way seems optimistic, taking into account that with so few funds it managed to reach a large audience, thus showing that films from small cinemas and low budget can find their way to the world audience. Even considering the exciting life of the film, the lack of funds in this case cannot justify the lack of an innovative story.

"Flow" is a silent drama about a small black cat growing up whose home is destroyed by a flood, after which it embarks on a journey with various exotic animals. The cat overcomes fears, crosses obstacles and makes numerous friends and foes. Zilbalodis depicts the cat as small and inferior to other animals, depicting it often from the overhead perspective, while the pronounced yellow eyes further emphasise its timidity. The lack of speech does not make the cat or other characters less human, because it is perfectly clear that these are topics that occupy the human mind. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world where people do not exist, but their presence is felt in the objects they left behind. Scenes mostly occur in nature, so the film is dominated by the greenery of the forest, the blue of the sky and the purity of the water. As there is no dialogue, the film is dominated by the sounds of animal calls and the sounds of nature, while the music is mostly ambient.

This is a narrative that has already been seen, especially in the animated film about animals that gain self-confidence. Although the script is decently written, because the authors obviously know the classical structure, it seems as if they have opted for the safe and proven approach. Instead of offering more original scenes, they decided to show us the change that the protagonist is going through by repeating something similar. In addition, saving a friend at the very culmination should be much more dramatic and exciting. Characters often manage to get out of dramatic situations too easily, which makes the movie less exciting. The absence of any speech deprives us of the context of certain scenes, and especially many problematic questions are raised by the scene in which the cat parted from the secretarybird in a transcendental space without gravity. For the author, this scene seems to have a deep meaning, but it does not reach the audience.

Considering the weaknesses in the story, it is not clear why audiences and critics generally respond well to films such as "Flow". The animal as a protagonist acts as an effective way to evoke empathy in viewers because it exudes a similar sentimentality as films from the perspective of children who suffer. Taking a small black cat, scared of the world, seems like an overly tried and tested method of eliciting empathy and is on the verge of a cliché.

The film does not stand out from its contemporaries, nor does it manage to get close to classics from its genre. It is great that the film from small cinema has achieved so much success, but it is questionable how much it will be remembered in the future. Watching "Flow" was a pleasant experience, but I feel sad because its potential remained underutilized. For a film about gaining courage, "Flow" is simply not brave enough.