Sundance 2021 – ‘Flee’ – dramatic and emotional story uses animation and archive footage to great effect in Afghan refugee tale…(review)

Story starts with an interview…

EXECUTIVELY produced by Riz Ahmed, this is a very moving, emotional, and powerful film.

It is a very remarkable story of survival and triumph.

An animated film – it is a documentary that tells the very personal story of ‘Amin Nawabi (a pseudonym)’ who fled Afghanistan and found refuge in the West.

Danish-French award-winning director Jonas Poher Rasmussen has put together a film that is intimate, searing and unforgettable in so many ways. You need to watch it – to understand and appreciate what the main character has endured in his short life – it takes us up to his life at 36 and re-location to the US.

Rasmussen knows ‘Amin’ personally and has been his friend for many years – since their teens.

In the post-premiere Q&A Rasmussen said Amin looked cool and different when he first spotted him on a train in his Danish village.

Coming from a background in radio documentary, Rasmussen knew Amin’s story was incredible and that it contained both the best and worst of humanity.

Told almost as one long interview, it merges archival footage from the 1980s, pop music, and hand drawn animation to produce storytelling on a level that is impossible to resist.

It is hard to say too much without affecting your possible enjoyment of this story – for it is an incredible ride and Rasmussen takes you right into the heart of Amin’s story – from his early days in Kabul to how he ends up going to America and getting married.

‘Flee’ covers a lot of ground and encompasses several countries – it is a refugee story but it is also one of hope and positivity.

One can see why someone like Ahmed would want to be involved – the refugee crisis has faded somewhat in Europe most recently because of coronavirus but films like ‘Flee’ are an urgent reminder of the misery and suffering of war and that there are many innocents who do not deserve the fate Amin has had to endure. But his tale is some and then some more…

Forget all the politics and simply submit to Amin’s story – you won’t be disappointed.

In fact, it may be very hard not to shed a tear or smile generously by the end. (Sailesh Ram)

ACV rating: ***** (Five out of five)