Flee

"Sometimes it takes years to start living your life"

2021 1h 29m DA

🙌

7.7

BANGER

🔥

98%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.9

IMDB

★7.7TMDB · 417🍅98%Rotten Tomatoes●91Metacritic★7.9IMDB · 20,187

DocumentaryAnimation

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Recounted mostly through animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan as he grapples with a secret he’s kept hidden for 20 years.

“Sometimes it takes years to start living your life”

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Cast

Amin Nawabi
Self (voice)
Daniel Karimyar
Amin (9-11 years old) (voice)
Fardin Mijdzadeh
Amin (15-18 years old) (voice)
Milad Eskandari
Saif (8 years old) (voice)
Belal Faiz
Saif (13-19 years old) (voice)
Elaha Faiz
Fahima (13-18 years old) (voice)
Zahra Mehrwarz
Fahima (28 years old) (voice)
Sadia Faiz
Sabia (16-26 years old) (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Writers: Mads Juul, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Kenneth Ladekjær
Languages: Danish, French, English, Persian, Russian, Swedish
Countries: Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 21% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 6 languages: Danish, French, English, Persian, Russian, Swedish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 7 countries: Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Uno Helmersson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Janus Billeskov Jansen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jonas Poher Rasmussen directs. Uno Helmersson scores. Janus Billeskov Jansen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, France. Dialogue in Danish, French, English, Persian, Russian, Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $3.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Earned back only 21% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
4Released 5 years ago.
5Dialogue crosses 6 languages: Danish, French, English, Persian, Russian, Swedish.
6International production across 7 countries: Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, France.
7Original score by Uno Helmersson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Janus Billeskov Jansen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Amin Nawabi and Daniel Karimyar and Fardin Mijdzadeh carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Sometimes it takes years to start living your life".
11IMDB entry: tt8430054 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 9 themes, including "refugee", "trauma", "afghanistan", "therapy".
13Released under 23 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Original score: Uno Helmersson
Editing: Janus Billeskov Jansen
Sound: Fredrik Jonsäter
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,400,000
Box office: $712,229
Return: 21% of budget
Original language: DA
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Flee (2021)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 91/100
IMDB rating: 7.9/10 · 20,187 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 3 Oscars. 99 wins & 152 nominations total

Bodil Award for Best Documentary
Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
Robert Award for Best Documentary Feature
European Film Award for Best Documentary
European Film Award for Best Animated Feature Film
Nordic Council Film Prize
Dragon Award Best Nordic Documentary
European University Film Award
Guldbagge Award for Best Foreign Film
Dorian Award for LGBTQ Film of the Year

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jonas Poher Rasmussen

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots2021-03-09
★ 7/10
Everybody has a story that deserves to be told, and an Afghan refugee’s 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 man’s story, but to protect his identity. Amin’s 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 all of these things happened to one man and he’s still standing is a testament to a human’s will to survive, and I hoped he would eventually get his happy ending (you’ll have to watch the film to see if that happens). Rasmussen has an empathy towards his subject that’s crucial to making this thoughtful documentary work. Amin feels comfortable opening up to him, and reliving so many painful memories about the horrors he and his family experienced during his lifetime gives the film a very somber tone. From his parents resorting to human trafficking so their kids could have the opportunity to get an education to the sadness of leaving his homeland for Russia during a time of unrest in Kabul, this refugee story spans more than a decade and examines the long-term psychological effects of a lifetime spent running away from oppression and towards freedom. “Flee” is a personal history brought to life, and Amin eventually reveals a secret that he’s never told another soul. It’s a cathartic exercise of a man confronting his painful past so he can move ahead to a brighter future, and his quest to find a place he can finally call home.
badelf2022-08-02
★ 10/10
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.