Flee

Movie: Flee

Nominated for: Best Foreign Language Picture, Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature

How I watched: Prime Video

When I fell asleep: Not a bit

When it had me: Kids running away from forced conscription

When it lost me: It didn't

What I have to say:

I have seen a lot of Oscar movies that deal with some aspect of being a refugee. I thought Flee would be the same deal, but with animation. However this movie really addresses a person as a full human being who has a refugee story as part of their life. It's a seemingly small difference but it felt like a big change.

Michael Harriot recently wrote about the difference between a movie that depicts black people as slaves and a movie that depicts a human being who is struggling with the system of slavery. He said in a 'Slave Movie', "Characters are reduced to being defined by their oppression and circumstances." And that has been my experience with 'Refugee Movies'. This movie provides a contrast. A large part of Flee is centered around his story of escaping first one country and then another to find a new start in a place that offers freedom and security. But it also addresses his personal life in the past and present. It also highlights his successes and career. It also addresses long term healing and trust and learning how to move on. It includes his love of cats! What that meant for me as a viewer is that I was spending less time sort of rolling around in the muck of his sad existence in order to really feel how bad it can be and I had more time learning about atrocities from a fully formed human that I can identify with, root for and respect.

I believe this movie is animated to protect the people involved. Being a refugee instills you with a lifetime of fear of being found out and sent back. Also, the animation allows for an extremely powerful choice to make by including images that are not animated and this film maker did not squander that.

I enjoyed this movie and found it to be powerful but it wasn't until days later that I was telling my husband about it and I dissolved into tears that I fully realized how much it had affected and moved me. I think I'll be thinking about this movie for a long time.