Flee

“What does the word home mean to you?” an inquisitor asks. “It’s someplace safe,” the subject responds. The interviewer is Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen. The man he’s talking with is 36-year-old Amin Nawabi, although that is an alias. A title card informs us “This is a true story.” However, “some names and locations have been altered in order to protect members of the cast.” Flee is the saga of a man born in Afghanistan who fled his native land to preserve his own life. It was a difficult journey, but he found sanctuary in Denmark as a refugee. Jonas and Amin met in the 1990s when they were teens. They have remained close friends ever since. This is Amin’s tale.

Amin is a now successful academic on the precipice of marriage. He lives a good life in Denmark though he hides a painful past. The sacrifices of his family weigh heavily on him. Here he publicly reveals his hidden trauma for the first time to anyone. That includes his partner. He begins 30 years prior. As a little boy, he enjoyed flying kites, listening to A-ha, and wearing his sister’s nightgowns in public. Jean-Claude Van Damme fascinates him. However, they weren’t all happy times. The Mujahideen seized the capital city of Kabul in 1992. His father was seen as a threat and was arrested by the communist government.

The family had to leave. Conditions in Afghanistan were simply too dangerous. Initially, Amin joined his brother, two sisters, and mother on a perilous expedition across countries. First a terrifying getaway to Moscow. Then Amin escapes to Estonia via corrupt human traffickers and winds up in prison. His brother Abbas makes arrangements to get him to Sweden. Amin ultimately finds a literal home in the Danish countryside with his fiancé Kasper. What makes the chronicle so compelling is the vivid recreation of a trek. Flee is a unique depiction in that it presents these recollections as an animated movie rated PG-13. Visually the drawings are simple but realistic and immersive. Occasional live-action newsreel footage of Kabul and Moscow are inserted throughout.

The intimate narrative vividly conveys Amin’s traumatic ordeal. One harrowing nightmare follows another. It is an experience that many refugees must endure before finding asylum in a new country. Its scope is impressive. Flee is a captivating portrait of self-preservation that has attracted widespread attention. Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau serve as executive producers. It has acquired unanimous acclaim from film festivals and critics winning numerous awards. As such it’s a potential Oscar contender for Best Animated Feature but as a factual account made in Denmark, it could also compete for Best International Feature and as Best Documentary. In that respect, it shares a kinship with the Israeli animated war documentary Waltz with Bashir which earned a nod for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009. Will it be the first picture to make history with a nomination in all three categories? I’d love to see it.

12-20-22