Flee

Everybody has a story that deserves to be told, and an Afghan refugees personal narrative of oppression and the pursuit of a better life is portrayed in Flee. Director Jonas Poher Rasmussen animates a discussion between himself and his anonymous friend Amin, a man that has had one hell of an existence. Amin recounts his dramatic story through his own words, beginning when he was a young boy in Afghanistan in the 1980s to his incredible journey that made him the man he is today.

The hand-drawn animation is a poetic way to not only tell the mans story, but to protect his identity. Amins life, of which most of it has been spent on the run, is recounted in a series of unbelievable events that are traumatic, heartbreaking, and inspiring. That...

I loved EVERYTHING about this film. Jonas Rasmussen apparently is best friends with Amin, who just happens to be a Afghani who had to escape during Afghanistan's civil war because his father was one of the "desaparecidos" (to borrow the Chilean term of those silently murdered during Pinochet's rule).

Sounds ordinary? But oh no it isn't.

Now in his mid-30s, living in Denmark, gay, and having a boyfriend who wants to get married, Amin realizes that to have any quality of life, he must confront his past, and the horrible secret he's kept for most of his life. This film is the result.

As if that weren't different enough, Rasmussen animates most of the film in order to protect the actors from the Taliban. Why? Because this is a documentary and a true story.