LFF 2021: Flee
LFF 2021Jonas Poher Rasmussen's Flee is a poignant, brooding, and enlightening journey of the hardships of an asylum seeker with incredibly dark and harrowing turns, albeit with a hopeful voice.
Crafted in a similar manner to Ari Folman's critically acclaimed Waltz with Bashir, by curating a dark and harrowing story in the medium of animation is genuinely a genius decision to not alienate and project onto the already desensitised audience. By subverting the convention of creation, Rasmussen's film emphasises the emotive power this very feature stores by the conventions of the genre. Typically fashioned in the likes of Inside Out, Monsters Inc, Soul, and Coco – to name but a few – the genre itself allocates messages more profound and for more evocative on a subconscious level through narrative. Flee differs from that curation by being direct and unflinching in its conscious and subconscious thematic weight battle. To that extent, it could be seen as somewhat abrasive, but in this current social and political climate, Flee is shining a light on a conversation that has been skewed, butchered, and maligned with political operatics.
Flee never holds back from showcasing the horror and honest insight of its story. Granted, there are moments when cutting away from what is alluded to is just enough when considering the terror that this feature holds. Quite frankly, at times, it can be brutal to see witness, but again it is that animation curation that intoxicates and contorts the emotional power for the audience to stick through this portrayal thick and thin.
There is more to this story than just the asylum seeker approach – which is handled with brevity – by personalising this story further through internalising the lead character Amin, whom this story is based on, and showcasing his journey finding his sexuality. This arc, on top of being trapped in war-torn Afghanistan, is the profoundly tragic and brutish realisation that the longer Amin stays in this situation, is not only his life at risk for just surviving but also the fact that he can never be truly free due to who he is signals another layer of harrowing and mortifying substance throughout the feature.
These two arcs are handled with the utmost care and, honestly, offering often challenging and bleak scenarios to witness as an audience member. Situations and circumstances that are so dark with the layer of tragedy continuously following Amin and, therefore, the audience. To top it all off, the animation style Flee employs ultimately elevates the morality and thematic weight of the picture in its stripped back and simplistic approach. It is not a negative or meant to single poor craftmanship, but utilising two-dimensional animation is a technique that never oversteps the mark of style overriding substance.
All in all, while Flee is undoubtedly a tough watch, it is a conscious and heart-filled decision to showcase this story in the most full, honest and genuine manner possible. Undoubtedly, this is a feature that touches on some of the darkest moments in the current period of history, but in that very darkness shines a light on the power of the individual and the strength that will prevail.
