Sundance: "Flee" beautifully animates a family's struggle
Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 10:30PM by Eurocheese
As the first acquisition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Flee made headlines as an early success story. To anyone who attended the premiere screening, it was no surprise that the film was snapped up so quickly. Between its lovely animation and personal message, it speaks to a refugee’s journey in a heartfelt way. I shed tears at several points during the film, and based on the reactions I heard during the Q&A afterwards, we’ll be hearing much more about its emotional impact in the future.
The story begins as a conversation between two friends, one of whom (Amin) seems to be hesitating when considering marriage to his longtime boyfriend...
While it’s clear Amin has a story to tell his longtime friend, he struggles to find the words. The two knew each other since high school, but had never discussed Amin’s life before they met in Denmark. He had a number of reasons to keep his past to himself, and when he decides to tell the story, the animation transports us back to the days of his youth. A little boy who paraded around town in his sisters’ dresses for attention, he didn’t seem to have a care in the world. We get to know his family, a history of what has happened before he was even born, and within no time, we are at a climax. Afghanistan is at war, and it is imperative that his family gets out.
The starts and stops in the film begin to feel like an emotional rollercoaster, where tense moments are intercut with frustrating moments of immobilization, when the family feels trapped in a new situation. There is always a sense that everything could go wrong at any given moment. By hearing this story, we sense how sitting in one place was never peaceful for Amin. His family becomes a secret, and even within his family, his sexuality becomes an additional reason to hide. The concept of home and being at rest is completely intangible. He is exhausted, scared and impatient at all times.
In some moments, this story is a thriller as there are new dangers at every turn. In others, we flash forward to see a man struggling with his childhood demons, trying to decide what kind of life he wants to lead now that he is on the other side. There are moments of heartbreak, moments of relief and moments of genuine disbelief. Amin’s story deserves to be heard by the world, and I am thrilled that more audiences will be able to experience it in the near future.
Reader Comments (1)
I really loved this film. Such an interesting way to tell someone’s story, and that was quite a life his friend had gone through.