Review: Flee

Image courtesy of Participant.

Written and directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen and animated in a style that is simple yet effective, the documentary "Flee" is a powerful story about the concept of finding a place one can call home and what it means to belong somewhere.

The film is based upon a friendship between Rasmussen and an Afghani man named Amin whom he met when he was young and riding a train. Amin has a refugee story that is often terrifying and - sadly - fairly standard, and up until the making of the film, so we're told, he has been reluctant to tell anyone this story for reasons that later become apparent.

The film has the style of a documentary in that its characters wander around the frame as if they're doing mundane tasks - sitting at a table or washing a dish in the sink - but those sequences have then been animated after the fact. At least, that's how it appears. Often, Amin is seen shot from above, lying on a couch as if he's telling his woes to a shrink.

Amin grew up in Afghanistan in the 1980s. His father disappeared one day after some soldiers showed up at their home, and he was never seen again. Amin lived with his mother, a brother and two sisters, and made plans to flee their home country when the mujahideen took over in the 1980s. On top of the fact that they'd be considered enemies of the new Afghan government, Amin also has a secret that would certainly endanger his life - he's gay.

Amin's refugee story involves being crammed into the bottom of dangerous boats with leaks; being smuggled various places by traffickers; living without a visa in Russia and being terrorized there by corrupt police; and finally making it to Denmark, although the rest of his family has congregated in Sweden, where an older brother had previously made it after fleeing Afghanistan.

Although this is technically a documentary - and the director often guides the conversation with his subject in the typical style of the format - the film employs flashback sequences to Amin's youth in Afghanistan, the family's travails in Russia and the moment when Amin finally told his family his secret. The blending together of these factual elements with recreated sequences - and animation - in one film make for a unique viewing experience. "Flee" is sort of a documentary, mostly an animated film and often a harrowing refugee story.

The film explores what the word home means - is it the place where we were born or where our family's home is located, or does it mean the place where we come to identify as feeling safe and belonging? Rasmussen's film explores this concept with powerful results, and its visual style will likely make it among the more unique documentaries you've likely seen.