Sundance Film Festival movie review: 'Flee'

(Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.)

Striking animation and vivid archival footage are composed to allow let an Afghan man finally open up about his childhood as a refugee in the documentary 'Flee' (screening at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival).

In short: This animated documentary follows the true story of Amin, a middle aged man who reveals his hidden past for the first time.

The conventional first-hand account documentary features a person telling their story, usually with taped interviews. These films garner authenticity with detail and specificity - the greater the detail, the greater the credibility. But this documentary has one hitch: the subject is telling his story on the condition that he remain anonymous. To accommodate this, director Jonas Poher Rasmussen ingeniously layers hand-drawn animation over recorded interviews with Amin to create a bold and extraordinary experience.

While 'Flee' purposely scrubs identifiable detail to protect Amin's identity, this powerful film elegantly finds the greater truths of Amin's journey: the emotional truth of every refugee. Amin's story is rooted in the Afghans fleeing their embattled homeland in the '80s - and it's also the universal story of everyday citizens living in exile from the only home they've ever known. On one level, 'Flee' beautifully frames a tragic and searing coming-of-age story of Amin's formative adolescence - one filled with traumas that would echo through to his adult life. On a wider level, 'Flee' is a refugee's story powered by desperation and sacrifices.

As always, one of the strongest pillars of storytelling is identity - and 'Flee' never loses focus on its subject's humanity. The very impetus for 'Flee' is itself a statement on identity. Amin is a middle-aged man who has gone through virtually his entire life keeping his life story a secret - and keeping this secret has infected his ability to trust and truly open up about his painful childhood. This story is his hidden identity. The film shrouds Amin's identity as a compromise to let him finally tell his story under his own terms - if Amin identified himself, this one story would overshadow his other accomplishments. His story would effectively become his identity - 'Flee' allows Amin to honestly tell his story while protecting and controlling what defines his life. Creative and profound animation lets Amin unburden himself without sacrificing his agency.

Final verdict: An unconventional mash-up of primary source interview, animation and archival footage composes a remarkable and personal, death-defying journey.

Score: 4.5/5

'Flee' screens at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. This comedy is not yet rated and has a running time of 90 minutes.