Throughout history, refugee crises have remained a global issue. We’ve become acclimated to seeing headlines in the news about millions of people being displaced as a result of wars, political corruption, human rights injustices, and economic instability. The documentary Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, hones in on one such account about a refugee named “Amin Nawabi” as he and his family escape Afghanistan. Rasmussen’s attention to detail and visual effects truly enhance the emotion felt while watching this documentary.
One interesting element is the use of television, both actual and animated examples. When including live television clips, they’re only shown in a small square frame with rounded edges, as if you’re watching these events and updates unfold in real time on a vintage television. This serves as an important reminder that this isn’t just an elaborate story, it’s a part of a greater historical event and many people have either endured similar or worse stories. Rasmussen also chooses to include seemingly unnecessary aspects of Amin’s daily life, such as watching Mexican soap operas on television, to further humanize his story. At 38 minutes and 15 seconds, he and his family were shown watching a show in which a pregnant woman was being thrown out of her house. Their show is interrupted when police bang on their door, asking to see their papers. To protect themselves, Amin’s family fearfully and quietly stand by, waiting for the police to leave. There are clear parallels between Amin’s family and the woman, as they’re both in a helpless situation and risk being displaced. This is another important message Rasmussen is trying to convey, that you may not realize it but even dramatized fictional stories you watch or read about could be someone else’s unfortunate reality.
Additionally, Rasmussen utilizes color, or lack thereof, in more sad and emotional memories. 14 minutes and nine seconds into the film, the Afghan police arrest Nawabi’s father. Besides the outline of the door and the people in this scene, there are not many other details. There’s even a lack of color where only dark army green, black, white, and shades of gray are present. The only noticeable detail is the constant movement of the colors through their change in texture–lines, strokes, and graininess. This makes it difficult to focus on what is occurring because it seems like there are all of these shadows moving and embodying the scene. These effects only emphasize the depressing and chaotic nature of having their family torn apart. Another instance is Amin’s family and others traveling from Russia to Sweden through human trafficking methods when a violent storm throws their small boat off course. They’re discovered by a Norwegian cruise ship, filling the scene with bright colors that encapsulate their hope that they will finally be saved after a long voyage. However, similar to the other scene, darkness–or in this case the shadow of the yacht–drowns out the color and hope when the officers on the yacht say that they will be sent back to Russia. I saw this as one of the most crucial points in the film because the viewer has the same sense of false hope that conditions will improve and it’s heartbreaking to feel it being taken away so quickly. Rasmussen’s choices effectively capture the characters’ emotions to attract viewer attention, draw on their sense of pathos, and lead them to a deeper, personal understanding of refugee hardships.
I agree, Rasmussen uses incredible detail in his animation that humanizes Nawabi’s story. When Nawabi recites a sad scene, like one of the police coming to arrest his father, he uses monotone or dulled out colors to visualize that something terrible just happened to their family. The constant use of color, switching from bright tones to muffled tones, is an important aspect of how Rasmussen is able to accurately illustrate Nawabi’s story due to his anonymity and provide the listener a deeper understanding of what is happening.
I agree with you in that I think Rasmussen was very smart and detailed about portraying Nawabi’s story and making sure that the audience could fully understand the story. He is careful with the color scheme that he chooses for each particular part of the documentary, deciding the order and the type of clips to use. He always uses real documentaries to introduce the setting and time it occurred at to give the audience a clear view of what the place was like at that certain time. I liked how we were able to see real changes throughout the film.
I thought it was really interesting that you commented on the use of television in the film when you wrote “even dramatized fictional stories you watch or read about could be someone else’s unfortunate reality.” It really puts the story into perspective because, as a viewer, we often forget that we are watching someone’s history. I agree that including unnecessary aspects of his life and television shows humanized the characters and placed the story in reality.