Social relationships
What “Flow” and “Le club des amis” teach us about human relationships.
(Originally broadcast on Radio-Canada, October 4, 2025)
Starting the season with social and friendship bonds.
With the start of the school year behind us and autumn encouraging new beginnings, it felt natural to begin with the theme of social and friendship relationships. I chose two works that touched me deeply:
the graphic novel “Le club des amis” by Sophie Guerrive, and
the animated film “Flow” by Gints Zilbalodis, which won both an Oscar and the César Award for Best Animated Film in 2025.
These poetic works invite us into dreamlike worlds while portraying complex psychological themes with great subtlety.
Two poetic works that speak to connection and difference.
Flow is a dialogue-free feature film carried entirely by sound and movement. We follow the journey of a solitary cat whose world is devastated by a massive flood. He takes refuge on a boat inhabited by animals of different species — companions with whom he must learn to cooperate despite their differences.
In Le club des amis, aimed at young children, Sophie Guerrive introduces us to Tulipe the bear, Crocus the snake, and Violette the little bird. Together, they discover the beginnings of friendship through their adventures.
What do these animal characters reveal about human relationships?
The first thing that comes to mind is the question of difference. By portraying collaboration or friendship between different animals, these stories allow us to recognize what, as humans, we encounter in alterity.
Alterity lies at the core of any encounter: the other is different from me. Sometimes this difference is obvious — another culture, another language, another personality. Sometimes it appears almost invisible when someone seems similar to us, until we discover — sometimes with surprise — that their inner world is distinct from ours.
Back-to-school season: excitement, uncertainty, and social adaptation.
School, from the earliest years, is an initiation into social relationships. It is where a child discovers group life outside the family — where the rules are different, and where they must find a way to navigate among peers.
Some children become friends, others remain acquaintances, and some become sources of conflict. All of this unfolds under the supervision of adults, but not under constant surveillance.
This is beautifully shown in Le club des amis: even though the parents are present, the story focuses on what happens outside the family sphere — in the world of young friends. Adults protect, reassure, and advise, but they also allow children to have their own experiences.
Parents and the desire for their child to socialize.
Parents encourage socialization differently depending on their own personality and their hopes for their child.
This parental desire is illustrated right at the beginning of Le club des amis: Crocus’s mother tells him that it’s time to go find friends and that the world isn’t so big. It’s a lovely way of showing the parental impulse that helps a child move outward, toward the world.
And in the book, this encouragement is accompanied by a crucial reassurance: “Don’t worry, I’ll be right here.”
It may seem simple, but it is essential. It conveys the idea that the adult — especially the parent — is present, that the child can return if needed or simply if they want to, that they are not being pushed into the world without support or safety.
It also shows trust in the child’s capacity to explore, in their resources, and in the parent’s wish for them to separate and form bonds beyond the family. This is fundamental groundwork for building relationships outside the home.
Home as a sanctuary after exploration.
The book presents a literal sanctuary through the warm, welcoming cave of Tulipe’s mother. We see the mother bear offering a heated cave warmed by a wood fire, a soft duvet, and a walnut tart on request — everything needed to face the hardships of winter (or of life) in peace. It is very close to a sanctuary that ensures moments of serenity.
And even though this is represented physically in the story, it resonates with what deeply shapes our sense of security when we explore the world. If we consider exploration as a process, then what becomes interesting is the notion of learning that accompanies it.
The young characters in the Club express this beautifully when they ask: “Where are the friends?” Isn’t that a question we can ask at any age?
Not only “Where can I find friends geographically?” but “Where are the people I consider my friends?”
Friendship as a choice — unlike most social relationships.
Friendship often involves a significant element of choice. We see this even in young children who choose a “best friend.”
But not everything in life is chosen. Some social situations are imposed by circumstance — classmates, later colleagues, or members of a community — and we have to navigate them as they come.
This is portrayed very clearly in Flow: circumstances force the characters to form bonds despite possible aversions, fears, or long-standing habits. Our lives are full of social relationships we do not choose.
Yet Flow also speaks of choice — the moment when the cat realizes that one cannot remain alone forever. At some point, we must engage with the world, and for that, we must begin to truly form connections.
What does it mean to “form a connection”?
Collaboration, yes — but not only.
Flow illustrates, almost literally, the idea of “taking the plunge”: engaging with others, supporting their difference, allowing oneself to enter into relationship.
I invite listeners to reflect on their own relationship to others. Are you more solitary, preferring very small circles? Or do you find energy in colorful, joyful, social interactions?
And how do you think this shapes your relationships, especially at work?
There is no collaboration without social connection — without at least two people who must learn to know one another, discover one another, and attempt to understand one another.
The absence of “innate” social ease.
It seems to me that, notably in the corporate world, there has been an increasing invitation over the past years to reflect on who we are and how we interact in groups. This likely speaks to the fact that social connection is not obvious or innate.
Group work: where misunderstanding often appears.
It’s true that working on a group project is not always simple. Some people feel comfortable with it; others much less so.
Flow illustrates very clearly the awkwardness, misunderstandings, and prejudices that can circulate within relationships. The solitary cat embodies a frightened vision of the world, which leads him to be quite individualistic and anxious. Through his encounters, he gradually changes the way he enters into relationship.
Importantly, the film does not portray an idealized world. We witness the meeting of this fearful cat with:
a lemur obsessed with his belongings and his image,
a protective bird, and
a capybara of implacable placidity.
The film stages not only mutual help but also jealousy, theft, and aggression — because social relationships sometimes contain all of this.They involve learning to defend ourselves, recognizing what the other may be experiencing, and what we ourselves bring into interactions.
We are not benevolent at every moment, nor do we only live benevolent experiences. This is how prejudices form, and how aggression or selfishness can sometimes color human relationships.
Why the link becomes complicated.
Isn’t this precisely where relationships become challenging? Being together is not enough to truly be in relation — especially not in a fulfilling way. Behind our behaviors lie fears, contradictory needs, and sometimes old wounds. And yet, despite this complexity, connection remains essential.
Essential is the word.These works highlight the fundamental importance of our ties to others, while never pretending that these ties are obvious or simple. Even the most solitary individuals need connection in some form — but this doesn’t mean that forming bonds is innate.
Social relationships develop and mature over the course of our lives because we learn, through experience, how to be with others. We discover what suits us, what we value in relationships; and we feel the shifts, because our needs and desires evolve over time.
🎧 Listen to the original French segment: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premiere/emissions/a-echelle-humaine.
Works discussed: Le club des amis by Sophie Guerrive and Flow by by Gints Zilbalodis (Crave).
