not the everyday warmovie

Rating: 9/10 (10 May 2014)

Come and see is a movie that grasps you by the throat and make you see war is not Heroic as many of the western/Hollywood movies seem to portray it. Of course, being a 1985 Soviet movie, it will put in some propagandistic elements and simple elements and sometimes poor acting. But also symbolism that sometimes will not be understood. What is this stork doing in the movie and why is it relevant we ask ourselves (e.g. a Russian friend explained me once that woodpecker ticking on a house means someone from the house will die soon). Not to mention that storks usually do not live in a forest, let alone build a nest on the ground.
What we are to believe from most western WWII movies is that is was, at least at the front, a pretty clean and honest fight. With hero's, bad guys and action. This movie shows that on the eastern front things were much different. Question is why this was so, was it that the Russians themselves were not like western soldiers/civilians and the Germans took the same approach? One of the most shocking parts in the movie is when the boy returns home with his girl after being bombarded in a camp. They sit and eat before they realize what is wrong. But also the actions of the Germans in the other village are shocking and we are engulfed with the fear of the people.
No this is not a fun movie but it is a class apart from many other WWII movies.