FYC: "Flee" in Best Sound
by Chris James
Flee is a unicorn of a film, a hybrid of so many styles of storytelling. In the most basic of terms, it’s a first person documentary feature as Amin recounts his journey from Afghanistan to Denmark. The use of animation in telling Amin’s story serves a few different purposes. On a social responsibility level, animating the entire film helps protect the subject and their family. From a stylistic perspective, the animation draws us into Amin’s crisp memories, only to have the traumatic flight from Afghanistan be painted with broader, more dramatic strokes. It’s as if Amin’s memory is protecting him from the details. Come the time of Oscar nominations, it could be the first film nominated for International Feature, Documentary Feature and Animated Feature. Matt St. Clair has already done a great job lobbying for it in Best Picture, which would be richly deserved.
There is one other category that the Academy should make sure to consider Flee in - Best Sound.