Come and see the masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2011)

There exist movies that within few opening scenes make me forget that I am watching a movie, that it is all make-believe, and that those are not real people but simply actors performing their craft. This movie is not one of those – it is beyond it. There are parts of it during which I caught myself stepping back from the immersion and almost forcefully suspending the suspension of disbelief. Such is the torment in it, but then again, that was the idea behind making this movie – to capture the horror of WWII and help us understand the scale of human destruction, physical as well as mental. I believe that there is no other movie in existence that does this better. I do not make this statement lightly.
Set in small Byelorussian village in 1943, a minuscule part of Soviet Union, the atrocities committed in it, combined with a statistic shown at the end of the movie will help you understand just how it is possible that tens of millions of people died, in Soviet Union alone. To try and imagine, to picture, one million people in front of you is daunting. Thirty million seems like a distant theoretical concept at best, of which our cognitive grasp is fully incapable. And yet, it happened.
Florian, a young boy – barely a teenager, is recruited by Soviet Partisans. Full of innocence, enthusiasm, and eagerness as only a young man can be, he says goodbye to his family, and walks as if on clouds, to join the rest of his garrison. Through his eyes and the rest of the senses, one by one, those traits will be viciously taken away, until the only thing left is a shell, the boy is long gone, and the person than stands before us is barely recognizable. But this new shell has a will of steel; to defend and fight back – to survive.
The story and the level of acting are not the only impressive components of this 1985 film. The way it is shot and its unique sound complete the elements that are required of every epic. In his introduction of this film to us, my film professor stated that in watching it, you will be able to smell, almost taste, the gore. I, of course, did not say anything, simply thought that perhaps he is slightly exaggerating, trying to get us to pay closer attention to the film. Two things – I was wrong; if anything he undersold it, and two – a great deal of concentration, in a way, is not really necessary for this film. Even if you are an average movie-lover, rest assured that this masterpiece will grab a hold of you until it possesses you fully, and then not let go for next two hours.
All of you are familiar with "Saving private Ryan." Most of you will remember the great scene where true burden of war presents itself – Tom Hanks' character loses any remaining sanity, goes deaf, and starts shooting his small Colt handgun at an oncoming German Tiger tank. Guess where Steven Spielberg got the inspiration for that scene? Yep, you guessed right. Now imagine the psychological and emotional level of that twenty-minute scene spread out to two thirds of a movie. Guess in which movie this actually happens? Right again.
"Come and See" is easily one of the greatest films ever made. With any great film that scars me, I ponder the meaning of its title. While it contains biblical references, in writing this review, I realized its, oh so simple, meaning. "Come and See" what war is really like. "Come and See" what it really does to men.
Finally, this film succinctly illustrates the reason behind my eternal gratefulness that Hollywood is not the only worldly entity making movies. Because, and let's get this clear, this movie could have never ever come from Hollywood, and yes, they really killed a cow.