Well, Readers, it’s been a while since I’ve been to the cinema, but yesterday’s film was a great re-introduction to sitting in the dark and having a proper communal experience.

As I mentioned yesterday, ‘Flow’ is something of an enigma – a film made (relatively) cheaply, with no dialogue, featuring a bunch of animals who are making their way in the world after humans have disappeared. The way the animals move is very realistic, although the details of their fur and feathers are not as exquisite as in something like Zootropolis or one of the other Pixar animations which have shedloads of money to throw at the whole thing. However, the animals are very much animals, not little people in furry suits, and we are left to decide for ourselves what has happened, and what’s going on. In other words, the film leaves room for our own emotions and intelligence, which rather makes a change when so many films indicate what we’re meant to be feeling at every juncture.

The sounds that the animals make are taken from real animals, and although the film has a ‘U’ certificate, the central character (the cat) nearly drowns often enough for me to think that it might be distressing for a sensitive child. Then again, I did cry for the whale in the animated Pinocchio back in 1968 so I’m probably more prone to tears than most.

What is truly astonishing is the depiction of water, and sky, and landscape. There are moments of real wonder in this film that I wouldn’t want you to miss.

Plus, for me the overwhelming themes were about community, belonging and friendship. Without wanting to give too much away, it shows that you can’t always rely on your family of origin, or on individuals who look like you. Various characters are let down badly by their own species, only to find true friendship with a creature that doesn’t look like them at all. There are no easy answers in this film, and I suspect that there will be many discussions about what it all meant on the way home. The children who watched the film seemed spellbound, as did the adults.

Do catch ‘Flow’ if you can. It’s a real one-off.