True events are recounted in an involving way in this new documentary by Jonas Poher Rasmussen.
Flee (multilingual and fully subtitled) has the Danish auteur going on a more complex route through a kind of anonymity for his friend, Amir. His refugee experience from prosperous, but war-torn Afghanistan to Copenhagen has a surprising urgency and vitality about it. Likely from the adroitly crafted hand-drawn animation that ours a great deal of what consistently engages the mind and heart.
A bookending has Amin opening up for the first time considering prevarication that have enkindled an activist streak as a gay man on the verge of marrying Kasper. Having tolerance in the face of struggles is part of the demand during a cause.
The generosity towards Amir begins expressively from the mid-1980s when US aided insurgents take charge as the Soviet Union retreats from Afghanistan.
Preteen Amir finds his dad out of sight as the youngest of five kids also has a brother rejecting the military by absconding to Sweden. He’ll be on the run, too with his mother and other siblings — first to Moscow with subsequent authoritative ill-treatment; then to Sweden aided by human traffickers. Eventually, it’s about dealing with identity when finally arriving in Copenhagen even with remedy considered.
A hued, tactile feel often helps to sustain a bracing experience, complementing narrative efficiency. Filmic gratitude is exuded affectingly from the banality of daytime television in Moscow to seemingly on-going torment. In telling it all on tape a taut alacrity as the deft toon style is well contrasted with old archival clips that underscore political tumult. Even an illuminating visage from the characters provides more emotion in a striking description with insightful perspective often like the autobiographical milestone from Ari Folman Waltz With Bashir.