TIFF 2021: Flee
tiff 2021The cinematic artform has provided individuals from across the globe a platform to share their experiences and lives. Whether it is an artist transforming an emotion they are experiencing into a work of fiction or a documentary filmmaker capturing a true reflection of the world around them, film has been a powerful tool for empathy and understanding. No film better shows this than Jonas Poher Rasmussen's animated documentary Flee. Screening as part of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, Flee lets a man named Amin tell his story from childhood to adulthood from the trials and tribulations he experiences as a minor refugee from Afghanistan to his experience coming to terms with his sexuality and the process he took with coming out. Flee is an incredibly personal tale but is also instantly universal in a million ways, with the film exceeding the highest expectations of what the cinematic artform can accomplish and becoming an instant modern masterpiece.
Taking the best aspects of documentary filmmaking and elevating them with a timely and relevant story, Flee feels rather undeniable in its poignance and power. Being a true story, it is impossible not to feel empathy and understanding for the character of Amin and the struggles he and his family have faced. In a time where so many takes on topics like refugees feel politically charged and crafted, hearing a raw and honest experience of pain and hope is refreshing and leaves no room for opposition or debate. Flee is a human story and takes the time to get to know its characters and sit with them. Amid and no individual character is defined by a single event or emotion but rather is a collaboration of emotions and personalities that simply cannot be created in a world of fiction.
Flee is human and it is impossible not to connect with the characters on an incredibly deep level because of this. The film doesn't just focus on the unique experiences of Amin's life but also the smaller more relatable pieces of his experience as a human. From the love he feels towards his family to his experience growing up as a young queer man. Specifically as an LGBTQ+ text, Flee feels incredibly moving with the fears of the situation and the power of acceptance being displayed to masterful levels. Even if one doesn't relate to the experience of Amin as a refugee, for example, these will give any audience member some deeper form of connection with Amin – making the rest of his experience strike far closer to home than in other projects. It is media like Flee that will end up changing the world and how audiences view these sensitive topics as it connects to their inner humanity in a powerful and authentic way. Flee with both crush the souls of audiences but also hold them tight with hope and love becoming one of the most emotionally profound films of the past decade.
The audience joins Amin on every step of his journey. With flashes to modern day spliced throughout, the audience gets to grow and feel alongside Amin and his family. The audience spends time with Amin as a kid running around the streets of Afghanistan with his family and community. They get to spend time with him flying kites on the roof and daydreaming about the muscles of Jean-Claude Van Damme. They get to see him grow up and have to mature incredibly quickly, to come to terms with his family being split up and in constant danger. They get to witness his coming out journey with every ounce of fear from that process being felt. Finally, they spend time with him as an adult. The drama of life has settled but the pain and complexity of his life has not and both him and the audience has to live with it. There is no easy answer or clear emotion, everything is complex and honest.
Where one might think that the choice to capture the story through an animated lens might hurt this humanistic quality, it ends up actually enhancing it. While keeping the film under the documentary genre, the film is able to teleport audiences to various corners of the world and play around artistically with tone and setting. The focus on animation also makes the live-action clips stand out all the more powerfully which is important as each leaves its own haunting power on the feature. While some of the animation movement might feel a little rough, the shot composition is wonderful and overall the animation feels perfectly crafted for the project it belongs to.
It honestly is hard to find the right words to describe the impact Flee has. The film is expertly crafted, with Jonas Poher Rasmussen declaring himself a master of the medium. The story is powerful and needed, with the film becoming more and more politically relevant with each passing day. It does an incredible job when it comes to connecting with the audience and will have their emotions in the palm of their hands in the best of ways. Flee is not just simply one of the best films of the year, a solid awards contender, or a defining film of its genre but is truly possibly one of the best films of all time. Flee captures humanity and presents it in an engaging and poignant way that is undeniable. Films like Flee will be the ones to find a home forever baked into the cinematic landscape; it is films like Flee that will change the world it enters; it is films like Flee that prove why cinema is so important and powerful.
