An animated documentary that is unfortunately animated, Flee tells the gripping true story of one young Afghan’s illegal escape from Russia to Western Europe, sprinkled with his self acceptance of his homosexuality.

If I were famous, and I should be, people across the globe would know of my intolerance for “serious cartoons,” stories—whether true or fictional—that should be live action but instead are dragged down by lame alternative visuals. I know it’s not fair, but non-family animation is an art form I struggle with, especially when it comes to documentaries.

Flee comes close to winning me over, and overcoming its animated style, and since so much of the movie depicts past events it’s understandable why Jonas Poher Rasmussen needed to visualize subject Amin’s traumatic life story in some way. It’s the parts that take place in modern times—the traditional talking head interview and other “in the life” footage—that really annoyed me. Why are these moments animated???

If you can overcome the film’s style—and there are plenty of you who could care less, good for you—there is a profound story to be told here. For me, personally, I would have gone a different direction, and in turn Flee would have been much more accessible and powerful.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.