Flee (Sundance 2021); Grade: B+
Strictly Films welcomes you back to more coverage of this years Sundance Film Festival!! Our next film on the block: Flee.
Flee tells a story about a man named Admin retelling his entire life story, of how he fled Afghanistan to where he is now. This is one brutal journey in order be where he's at today, as we learn about not only the journey itself, but also discover Admin true identity as a person as well.
Flee is captivated by wonderful hand drawn 2-D animation. The animation truly has a unique and authentic style, that has a personality within itself. Lovely composed Score as well, really enjoyed the music this film has to offer as it flows very nicely to move this film along. The characters were all well written and likable, as of course they felt real due to the fact this is based off a true story. Admin as a character will simply shatter many hearts, as his journey is truly extraordinary however extremely brutal. I felt the film did a really good job regarding Admin's vulnerability in telling his story, while also giving a fair amount of detail on his personal life and sexual preference as well.
Flee however has problems. I felt this film in the beginning and a little bit in the middle has a bit of a focus issue, as instead of telling the story as a whole narrative, it sometimes detours somewhere else. I also would've liked some areas in this film to be explored a tad more, as there were some holes to be filled.
Flee reminds me of a docudrama that had animation Tower, where it's like a documentary however is developed as a moving narrative as the animation helps it along. Flee may not be on the level of greatness of Tower, however I still really enjoyed Flee. The story itself was extremely engaging from start to finish, as I was truly invested in Admin trying to flee from country to country, where he can be in a safe secure location. It's honestly extremely devastating what people like Admin have to go through, in order to live a good life as your blood is boiling by how extremely disgusted you are by what takes place by people and such. I also really enjoyed how this film detours from animation, into bringing real footage, especially featured in a four by four ratio square. Truly brings out the authenticity this film is striving to be, as it was wonderful to experience. If your into films that have great animation, well written characters, a well written story, and partaking a new experience... Flee has all of that.
Overall, Flee was a pretty damn good film. I highly recommend this film. -Mitch Smietana