Pure Realism

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2007)

"Come and See" directed by Elem Klimov documents Nazi Germany's assault on Russia during World War II. The story centers around a young boy named Florya who has a dream-like idea about being a soldier and fighting for Russia, but his ideas of war are shattered when he gets a taste of the utter truths of what the war can entail. After seeing his family dead, he is utterly distraught and knows he cannot contain this child mentality of war anymore. We can see Florya age dramatically through the course of film, even though he is still the same boy from the beginning of the film. The experience has truly caused him to age and change and for the audience to get a new look at him at the movie's end. "Come and See" is truly an assault on our five senses, capturing the realistic feel in all aspects. Klimov does a fine job capturing the essence of the brutality of the war with little violence. Movies like "Saving Private Ryan" documents more violence, blood, and SGI then actually capturing the true emotion and hardship. "Come and See" really focuses on emotion and the horrors of war. The scene which really is special is when Florya finally fires his gun to have a sort of epiphany and realization. Going backwards in the scene really makes it more captivating. Any of these events could be stopped if Hitler did not exist or was killed before he could let the horrendous events of the Hollacaust unfold. I really recommend this movie to truly reveal what the war is really about and how psychologically damaging it could be.