Flee: Film Review
Flee is up for the Best Animated Feature, Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature Oscars and these are totally deserved – it is a powerful, moving film that everybody should watch.
This animated documentary tells the story of Amin Nawabi, who fled his home in Afghanistan to seek refuge in Russia with his family when he was only a young boy. He tells the story as an adult living in Copenhagen, recalling the hardship his family went through to make new lives in Europe and reflecting on how those difficult years shaped who he is now.
Just thinking about Amin and what he went through has just brought tears to my eyes – that’s how powerful, important and touching Flee is. I think it should be shown in schools to give people more compassion for refugees and to appreciate how lucky they are to live in a country without conflict. It puts you in his shoes and makes you realise how impossible it is to make a new life in a new country when you have no money and don’t have proper papers. The life-threatening lengths they have to go to because they’re utterly desperate is so upsetting.
I loved the structure of the story and how it cuts between Amin as a young refugee and adult Amin making the documentary in the present, reflecting on how the experience has affected his entire life. I actually wanted to know more about him – what did he study at university? What is his current job? I assume these details were withheld to protect his identity (much like the animation decision).
I can’t overstate how much you should all see Flee. It really will open your eyes to what refugees have to go through.
In cinemas from Friday 11th February