11/12 ForReel Score | 5/5 Stars

What if you had to leave everything you’ve ever known? Lose all sense of safety? Live in fear every moment? This is the reality of what was thrust upon a young teenage boy in Flee when he and his family are forced to flee their home country of Afghanistan. Now grown up with an established and stable life, he recounts his experience as a refugee to filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen, and what unfolds over the course of this 90 minute documentary feature is a story of survival and testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Flee gives voice to Ramussen's old high school friend, Amin, as he reflects on the treacherous bearings of his past. Given an alias and protected by the animation style, Amin is free to finally let go of his burdens and tell his story; the life he has kept so secret, now uncovered brick by brick.

After the Soviet army’s withdrawal in 1979, Afghanistan became a cruel place. Left with no protections, over a million civilians were killed or left for dead. Desperate to fight off the Taliban, the Afghan army began to pick young boys off the street to fight. Amin and his family had to leave everything behind and fly away to Russia - the only country granting tourist visas - to escape the war.

The animation in Flee captures these moments in a way that conventionally filmed documentaries cannot. The film is often intercut with archival footage to showcase the reality of the terrorism with a majority of the sequences depicted realistically while also basing more traumatic moments on emotion. The audience is able to immerse themselves in Amin’s memory and feel the full impact; to live out history as he remembered it. In a way, this conversation Amin has with Rasmussen is like a form of therapy. Amin is able to let go of the secrets of his past and move on to a bright future, despite the hardships he endured.

For many - especially here in the United States - the stories of refugees are seen in passing and with limited context on the news. Overseas refugee issues can be seen as too broad, too political, and too hard to relate with for those who aren’t directly affected by the turmoil. Flee is able to strike that cord and resonate with audiences. Amin is Rasmussen’s friend, but by the end of the film, he feels like our friend as well. We are welcomed into this secure space where we internalize this story of how he finds freedom, both physically and emotionally.

Words can’t fully capture the impact of Flee. It's a film that begs to be seen; to be experienced. It’s more than a documentary. It’s an examination on pain, joy, liberty, and beauty, broken down at the most authentically human level.

It may not have been the first animated documentary, with films like Victory Through Air Power (1943), Drawn From Memory (1995), and Oscar nominated Waltz With Bashir (2008) preceding it. However Flee dares to reevaluate the idea and perception of what documentary filmmaking and storytelling can be. It is a strikingly important film that everyone should be talking about. Superb filmmaking.

REVIEW: "Flee"; The Search For Physical And Emotional Freedom