Why I like Come and See

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2011)

The movie Come and See by Elen Klemov is quite an experience to watch. It takes place in Belorussia during World War II. The film was made to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of WWII. Klemov made the project in the midst of reforms from hard line communism in 1985. The title itself is a reference to the book of Revelation in the Bible which is fitting since this film is about fighting your own demons and the end of the world in wartime.
The main protagonist is Florya (played by A. Kravchenko), a boy about 15 years old. Florya is about as naive as they come and he is easy to root for. He's the quintessential symbol of innocence, and has bought into a glamorized view of war. Florya is conscripted into the Partisan movement resisting the Nazi advance. Florya makes many friends along the way, which he loses in the course of battle. The moral ambiguities that he is faced with really display the wearing down effect that constant battle will have on the human soul. He goes through hell, with brief light moments with the closest thing he has to a love interest in the character Glasha (played by O. Mironova). It is important to note that nowhere in this film is the Red Army ever shown. This is probably due to the fact that Stalin had placed higher priorities on fighting for other regions of the Soviet Union. More Russians were actually killed under the Stalinist regime than by the Nazis. This movie doesn't celebrate the Red Army, rather it highlights the fact that the Partisans, a ragtag paramilitary group at best, were able to help defeat the most dominant military power in the world. Feeling Florya's exhaustion from his character journey between boy to old man in small span of time, I was right there with him. By the end of the film, he's mentally an old man, but in actuality he is still in his teens. There is a terrible scene in which the Nazis assemble a group of citizens and humiliate them before jamming them into a barn, which they set on fire. Klemov cleverly anticipates that the viewers will instinctively say to them selves 'it's only a movie'. Right about that time, he pans the camera left to the barn door which is being heaved outward against the bar as they scream in agony. The Nazis blared classical music while forcing citizens to proclaim their allegiance to Hitler. It was essentially a party for them; all the while terrified citizens cooperated with this in hopes that they would be left alive. Florya escapes the barn and is further tormented, though randomly allowed to live. He later catches up with the enemy units, who have been ambushed by the Partisans. They have been assembled underneath a bridge and the emotionally detached Partisans listen to the varying responses from the soldiers. Some of whom waver in their furor, claiming they hold no ill will towards the Partisans while some are hard line zealots to the end, with downright frightening resolve even in the face of certain death. As in life, people have differing degrees of conviction, even warped convictions like the Nazis in the movie hold.
One character in particular spits out venom to the end, stating that the Russians were simply vermin to be exterminated. The General of the Partisans tells everyone to listen very carefully to what he just stated. This is where it is clear that the Nazis have no reason to fight, while the Partisans have every reason to fight them off. The General gives the order to simply shoot them and move on as opposed to lowering to the level of cruelty that they just witnessed. Florya has a cathartic moment shooting a picture of Hitler, and with each successive shot, he sends him farther back in time. The images of Hitler stroking children's cheeks and the gradual rise of the Nazi party flash onto the screen, everything seems to be in reverse order. This happens all the way to a picture of Hitler as a child on his Mother's lap, a chilling image when you reflect that child's future. His mother probably held high hopes for him that he would turn out happy and productive. At this moment, Florya can't seem to bring himself to 'kill' the child and walks away to join the Partisans; now with a real reason to fight.
This film is a masterfully done cinematic piece, as the shots that Klemov chooses are quite effective. The characters are constantly in a trancelike state, looking through the camera, as opposed to breaking the fourth wall (and our suspension of disbelief) and looking into the camera.This movie is very draining, and serves as a cautionary tale against war period. I feel it was also specifically a cautionary tale against the genocidal possibilities of nuclear war. There are some disturbing scenes of POWs that were so emaciated I could not watch them. We also learn that villages were burned in this awful manner hundreds of times during the war. The constant musical score of Mozart stands out in contrast to the absolute horror that Florya and his companions are exposed to.