Human Flow

PG-13

Released Oct 13, 2017

2 hr. 20 min.

Documentary

TRAILER

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List

91%

118 Reviews

Tomatometer

80%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

More than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war, the greatest displacement since World War II. Filmmaker Ai Weiwei examines the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Over the course of one year in 23 countries, Weiwei follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretch across the globe, including Afghanistan, France, Greece, Germany and Iraq.

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Critics Consensus

Epic in scope yet clear-eyed and intimate, Human Flow offers a singularly expansive -- and sobering -- perspective on the global refugee crisis.

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Audience Member

No actual information.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

vander a

The sorrow of it is almost unwatchable. It's like an apocalyptic sci-fi movie from the future however it's real and it's now. It makes one ashamed to admit to be a human being. It's difficult to believe the treatment of humans by humans. I'd say inhumane but that's an odd word that seems to mean it's conduct below human capability - when there's no such situation as inhumane - we have proved throughout history and present that there's no horrible treatment we won't do to our fellow man. It's difficult to watch and everyone on the planet should feel a sense of guilt - Bravo Ai WeiWei for showing us ourselves - putting a mirror to our inhumanity.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I would have rated this higher but for the nearly illegible captions and subtitles. There seems to be a trend toward making titles and captions as small as possible, and Ai Weiwei's film also chose to make them white on mostly light backgrounds.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Human Flow is a visual experience to be endured. A journey for the soul. A glimpse into the duty of care, and lack thereof, affecting our societies. Forgotten places and forgotten faces reach out and I struggle to remain seated. To comprehend the magnitude of what film director Ai Wei Wei intended. The camera remains. Lost souls stare onto it, onto the abyss. Dignified, proud, hopeful. Despite everything. Statistics and news headlines appear. Foreign voices makeshift the background. Subtitles demand the attention of the viewer. Everyone must seat and watch. There is no easy way out for us as there is no easy way out for the millions of refugees stranded across the globe. Oceans of humanity flow, stretching as far as the next border, people like waves reaching for the coast, seeking relief after a long journey. Aerial views of makeshift camps. Tents set along trains never to halt. People resting on the side of the road. On the verge of tears. Vulnerable to disease, under the elements, moving ever forward with their loved ones. All borders shutting down. The system collapses, numbers increase and countries build fences and walls with money that could be used in so many other ways. No questions are asked or aid provided. Left behind, human beings facing the most inhuman conditions in the history of our race. Those who are victims of the circumstances, run for fear of persecution. Those who pushed them into exile remain immune. Those who watch, what are we? What am I, but a privileged voyeur? A far removed entity able to switch off my screen at any given time. Sheltered, fed, safe. Free. Ashamed of myself as I type these words. Dreading the moment I move onto the next thing, and forget.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

O mais impressionante é que, enquanto a Europa vive uma crise existencialista e discute como abrir suas fronteiras, concentrando a maior fonte de renda do mundo, países como a Jordânia, o Afeganistão, o Líbano e países pobres da África subsaariana se esforçam para acolher e dar dignidade para pessoas que perderam tudo e viveram o inferno em seus países. O Afeganistão, totalmente desestruturado e se recuperando de grande instabilidade política e econômica, abre as portas e se prepara para receber afegãos refugiados em outros países e refugiados de outros lugares. Pessoas odiadas em seus países, perseguidas, migrando para preservar as suas vidas e terem o mínimo de paz, querem trabalhar e retribuir o refúgio. E infelizmente serão também odiadas nesses países por pessoas ignorantes e insensíveis às perservidades que seus irmãos passaram. Linda também a perspectiva da religião, difundida e interpretado por muitos como responsável por tantas disputas e tanto sofrimento... Mas é justamente a não observação do verdadeiro sentido da mensagem pregada por seus profetas, seja involuntária por alienação seja intencional por interesses políticos e ganância por poder, que tem causado tanta disparidade. A fé e a religião não podem ser condenadas pelo exemplo de pessoas que não as representam. O filme mostra brilhantemente que são justamente elas que mantém unidas essas pessoas que perderam tudo. Verdadeiros devotos que mantém a observação da oração, do culto e da caridade. Enquanto isso, enquanto muitos brasileiros saúdam as atrocidades do presidente Trump, o nosso país se esforça pra também acolher refugiados dando a eles dignidade. Mas somos pobres. Ainda assim há corrupção entre nós e casos desastrosos como aquele edifício que desabou em São Paulo. Esse filme é um alerta pra consciência. Precisamos pensar em nossos irmãos independente de etnia ou crédulo, buscar a caridade e vencer nossas vaidades.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Too long. Boring. The only thing good about this film is the beautiful scenery. I couldn't finish it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Ai Weiwei

Director

Ai Weiwei

Self

Peter Bouckaert

Self

Orlando Avis

Self

Israa Abboud

Self

Hiba Abed

Self

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Human Flow: Trailer 1

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Bilge Ebiri

Spirituality & Health

By making it clear that those who find themselves in these situations are all ordinary people just like us, Ai Weiwei brings home the sheer, unthinkable monstrousness of their predicament.

Mar 23, 2020

Full Review

Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

Its dazzling drone photography sends you gliding over vast expanses of ocean and desert yet the film itself leads to the inescapable conclusion that the world is shrinking.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 16, 2018

Full Review

David Stratton

The Australian

What he shows us is tragic and horrifying, but he offers no possible solutions and nothing much in the way of analysis.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 16, 2018

Full Review

Erin Blackwell

Bay Area Reporter

[The refugees'] situation is extreme, the risks dire, and they're real people. Was it obscene to parade them for my consumption, or was my irritation at his constantly inserting himself into the frame like Hitchcock beside the point?

Jun 4, 2020

Full Review

Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

[A] movie that is impossible to shake and will hopefully force you to see the world in a very different light. Well worth your time.

May 19, 2020

Full Review

Victor Stiff

Goomba Stomp

Human Flow's primary goals are to create awareness about the refugee crisis and instill empathy for those affected, and the documentary is successful on both fronts.

Mar 30, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

More than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war, the greatest displacement since World War II. Filmmaker Ai Weiwei examines the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Over the course of one year in 23 countries, Weiwei follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretch across the globe, including Afghanistan, France, Greece, Germany and Iraq.

Director: Ai Weiwei
Executive Producer: Andy Cohen, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann
Distributor: Amazon Studios
Production Co: AC Films, Participant Media
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Material|A Disturbing Image)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 13, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 9, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $520.6K

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