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Amin Nawabi is a 36-year-old student living in Denmark. He’s about to get married to his boyfriend of many years, and along with his ambitious attitude towards academics, his life seems to be moving closer towards rejuvenation and newfound clarity.

What follows this freedom is a chance to look back on a memory. He reminisces on this memory to an unknown listener. This remembrance is one of inability, fear and dismay, with the memory acting as a dark secret kept hidden in Nawabi’s mind. The secret is the basis of the powerful and soul-changing film “Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s 2021 documentary.

“Flee” is an exceptional, beautiful and heartbreaking portrayal of what many people take for granted: how the smallest of problems many face today can be a limitation for others.

For the most part, “Flee” is Nawabi’s recollection of his childhood in Afghanistan. The specialty of this documentary is that it is told mostly through the use of animation, a unique and imaginative approach which brings the viewer into that nostalgic-like state of looking back at youthful experiences, whether beautiful or downright traumatic.

The basis of “Flee” is dark as can be — it is Nawabi’s family attempting to leave their country at a time of war. More specifically, they were attempting to leave when the Mujahideen — members of multiple guerrilla groups operating in Afghanistan — grew as a force throughout an Afghan Civil War in the 1980s. This was a moment in their country’s history that fueled relentless panic and trepidation. Through the tribulations of their country’s oppression, Nawabi also faced another difficult challenge within his mind: whether to leave with his family or not.

Through border crossings and familial turmoil, Nawabi is faced with the memory of home. Not only that, but Nawabi even questions what home could even mean to him.

While the term “documentary” is a valid categorization of the genre of this film, I would say the way these stories are told by Nawabi is a sort of dramatization. The theory of this art form of documentary is that of “telling it how it is” — how events happen and the multiple perspectives of those involved. This was a retelling in a new and determined way unlike any documentary that I’ve ever seen, shown without the plainness of a simple documented approach.

The animation in “Flee” makes the viewing experience all the more magical. Through animation, these reflections act as dreams from long ago. The animation acts as its emotional backbone: imperfect and fractured. The choice to film it this way throughout the picture forms a new approach to shooting a documentary.

Rasmussen said in an interview with ScreenDaily that using animation led to the production process being the slowest he had ever done. “But ultimately that time was good for the film. It also helped that we had time for Amin to revisit old memories and traumas,” he said.

The devastating tale is visually represented with a lack of feeling smooth or thorough, but instead broken, like its protagonist and his anti-sentimental mindset. With an abstract presentation that keeps the audience engaged, the film is alluring and breathtaking, offering the viewer a chance to sit in on a new and vibrant cinematic experience.

Innovative on a whole new filmic level, “Flee” elevates the viewer’s attention to a great degree. It is a harrowing story of love and its consequences, teaching us all an important lesson on government and its barons. With that, the film will give many people insight on the history of a country’s challenges during one of the most difficult sequences in their time. In focus, we set our hearts towards one man and his survivalistic ambitions — that of becoming independent and singularly accustomed to life in a new world.

Published on January 30, 2022 at 9:46 pm