20 Best Films Of 2021

4. Flee

The Card Counter
Neon

Jonas Poher Rasmussen's brilliant, haunting animated documentary Flee is one of the most powerful and unforgettable cinematic experiences of the year.

Flee revolves around Amin, a gay Afghan refugee who recounts his experiences escaping from his home country of Afghanistan to Denmark.

The medium of animation can be an incredible tool to elevate real-world horrors in a truly evocative way, and rarely better has that been achieved than here.

A devastating depiction of the refugee experience that takes on an eerie, dreamlike power through its form, Flee also dares to go further by considering the reliability of the information we're being told and peeling back layers to reveal truths either sublimated or intentionally withheld.

It's a difficult, challenging sit, but absolutely audacious in how it subverts the conventions of both animation and documentary filmmaking to tell its twisty tale.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.