Equal parts blunt and earnest, Flee is a heart-wrenching examination of the lingering trauma from a life on the run. The animated documentary film was internationally co-produced, but focuses on a single subject: Amin, a successful scholar who, as a child, fled Afghanistan with his family, spending years living in hiding within Russian borders until finally becoming a refugee in Denmark. Long after the threat of violence and persecution has subsided, Amin still feels threatened, paranoid, and alone. It's a story about family and preservation, but more than that, Flee is a testament to the broken social systems that allow families to fall through the cracks, leaving them desperate — and as a result of that desperation, vulnerable.

Flee is a 2021 animated film directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen. The documentary presents as a series of conversations between the filmmaker and his friend Amin, who is about to marry his husband Kasper and wants to share his personal history for the first time. Amin became a refugee in Demark as a young man, and for years has lived under the lie that his entire family was dead. Now a successful academic with a solid career, Amin is opening up about his painful history for the first time.


Flee is a visually distinct and compelling documentary that makes best use of the medium. Despite a largely minimalist, yet realist, approach, minute details are sprinkled throughout the animated film, adding a sense of relatability to the scenes. The bits of food waste and crumbs on the kitchen counter in Amin's childhood home give the space a lived-in, homey feel, while the dark, discolored black patches on walls in their claustrophobic Russian apartment evoke a sense of squalor. For the more hazy memories — the traumatic events Amin has likely tried to block out, as well as events that happened when he was very young — are depicted in a visceral graphite style, like angst-ridden drawings in charcoal, smudged throughout a very personal sketchbook. The effect is unforgettable, etching images into the minds of audiences that they won't soon forget.

What makes Flee such a triumph, however, is the moments of human kindness and community. Although a sense of diaspora and longing is a clear and obvious thread, arguably the movie's real emotional core is familial love. Amin's main motivation in life is to live up to the sacrifices his family made for him; escaping Afghanistan came at a great cost to the family, but it was the best way to ensure their safety, and to prevent him and his brother from having to fight in a way they were unlikely to return from. But more than just survive, there's a sense that the family longs to thrive. Amin is able to do that in Denmark, and he treats his opportunities as his duty.


Amin's situation in Flee is tragic. As a child, he experienced great horrors that no human being — let alone a child — should have to face. His youth was wasted in hiding, and his entire family is scattered across Europe. Yet, the movie is careful to present Amin as an exceptional case; he could have died several times over, with the implication being that many other children in his position had it worse — killed by the Taliban, assaulted by corrupt officials, or simply stuck in the inadequate housing of a refugee camp, left to (as Amin put it) "rot" waiting for relief that never comes. While it would be tempting to portray Amin's journey as a triumph of will, spinning his story as one of an individual's perseverance, Flee instead reminds audiences that Amin was simply lucky that no one was killed, and that the young man only escaped from a life of oppression and suffering by a mix of luck and his family members' sacrifices.

While this might sound dour, there's an oddly optimistic undercurrent throughout Amin's story. Yes, he and his family suffered greatly, but he got out. What's more, the story is, at its core, one of love. Amin's love for his family colors his memories, and the scenes of the family being together in moments of tranquility — even if that's just them sitting in the dark watching Mexican soap operas — makes the movie's disturbing content tolerable without ever falling into exploitive "misery tourism." Flee is a sublime presentation of a deeply personal story that is also incredibly significant politically; Amin's story is just one of countless children who face impossible odds and dire circumstances. And unless something is done on a global scale, sadly, much worse versions of this tragic story are doomed to continue far into the future.

Flee releases in theaters on December 3, 2021. It is 90 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for thematic content, disturbing images and strong language.