Come and See
1985 · Directed by Elem Klimov
Original language: Russian
- drama
- war
- horror
- history
The story
The invasion of a village in Belarus by German forces sends young Flyora into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha, who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Flyora finds his family and fellow peasants massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.
What it’s like
Restless handheld camera pushes into faces and through mud, with extreme close-ups, wide marsh horizons, and surreal, hallucinatory sequences that bleed into the grimy realism. The palette is washed-out and grainy, with ash greys, peat browns, and the glare of fire, and the sound swings between ringing silence, howling wind, and sudden artillery that hits like a physical blow, with sparse mournful music. The vibe is feverish dread and grief, shifting into numbness. Its pacing is relentless, and its emotional arc follows a boy's face aging through horror, which makes it a harrowing experience. Intensity is high: sustained, graphic violence against civilians, including massacre, fire, and atrocity, with dread and cruelty throughout rather than clean action. It is not gentle and not suited to anyone seeking comfort. It is for viewers who want an unflinching, immersive war film and can sit with prolonged disturbing imagery.
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