When I watched Flee at the end of my virtual 2021 Sundance Film Festival run, I knew I had just witnessed something extraordinary. My jaw was on the floor and I was wiping tears from my eyes simultaneously, yet still wishing there was an “encore” button I could click to watch it all over again.
What makes this documentary so special aside from its sympathetic story about Amin, a gay refugee from Afghanistan who opens up about his past for the first time, is the music. The powerful placements of the tracks ‘Breathe In’ and ‘Help Me’ by the American-Icelandic artist Low Roar evoke a tender subtext that cannot be expressed through dialogue alone. However, it’s the hauntingly beautiful score by Swedish composer and multi-instrumentalist Uno Helmersson (The Painter and the Thief) that will sweep you off your feet and take you through your own emotional journey.
Cinemacy is honored to premiere the first track from Flee titled “Leaving Family Behind” before its release on Friday, December 3rd. Listen below.
“Leaving Family Behind”, like the rest of Helmersson’s score, does an astute job of complimenting the picture without distracting from the film’s already emotional narrative. It flows organically in tandem with the animation, the orchestration really brings the film to life. The score, like Flee itself, is a triumphant work of art.
Helmersson, who currently has over 70 IMDB credits to his name, was born and raised in a rural part of northern Sweden (and now lives in Stockholm). He has always been musically gifted; he took organ classes as a child and was accepted into the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 2002. His path to international acclaim started when he met Johan Söderqvist, one of the most prominent composers of film music in the Nordics. Since then, he has worked on numerous film and TV scores and has been acknowledged with a Golden FIPA Award at the Biarritz International Festival of Audiovisual Programming for the Scandinavian TV series Bron/Broen.
Ever since winning the Sundance Grand Jury prize earlier this year, Flee has been a front-runner in the pre-awards chatter, landing on every Best Documentary nomination list from around the globe. I wouldn’t be surprised if this also makes all of the Best Soundtrack lists too.
Distributed by NEON, Flee is Denmark’s official selection for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. Coming to theaters on Friday, December 3rd. The OST will be released by Milan Records on the same day.
