SSP Thinks Film

FLEE, an animated memoir/documentary telling of Afghan migrant Amin’s remarkable journey, is some powerful stuff. I’ve heard some people find the animation somehow alienating, that it lessons Amin’s story but I just don’t agree. The style of the animation, almost Hergé comic strip-esque might not always work – the more harrowing scenes might be better told in audio form only – but overall it wasn’t a bad decision to approach this story in animated form. Whatever your response normally is to a cartoon, whether you have an innate emotional connection to the form or not will affect your mileage for sure, but how else was this documentary that necessitated the anonymity of the subject supposed to be made in a visual medium? A feature-length interview in witness protection-shadows? This is often a tough watch but the humanity, the resilience and determination shines through and the few moments where Amin finds a scrap of true joy and happiness are truly sustaining. SSP