A haunting, disturbing and terrifying study on the inhumanity and senselessness of war

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2018)

If there were ever a film that could be called the ultimate anti-war film which shows the horrors of war and the dehumanization of its main characters in such a disturbing way that it will leave an absolutely depressing impact on you it is definitely Elem Klimov's Come and See.
Most of the time we see this film from Florya's point of view ( A teenage boy ) to show us truly how the war impacts those that were full of innocence before it started. The first half hour or more of the film consists of setting up his character, his connection with his family and with the young woman Glasha later on. It is a bit of the odd man out in the film as while still being depicted as grim it is not a very disturbing or depressing start. However, when the first bombs fall, you are immediately into this highly powerful and immersive masterpiece, because of things such as letting us hear the temporary deafening situation of our main character by letting us hear it with the audio, and deafening out all other sounds so we truly also begin to feel it as if it were happening to the audience. Also noticeable is the frequent use of extended trackingshots shot with a steadicam which are ofcourse always a great addition to improve immersion because in a long continuous take we can see everything our characters are doing, and are not subjected to constant different angles which always take a couple of seconds ( or less, but still, it takes time ) to keep that immersion.
The acting is of top notch quality the entire movie, and especially the teenage main character Florya played by Aleksey Kravchenko is exceptional with his desperate facial expressions and his increasing dehumanization throughout the film. The violence is so powerful in this film because anything bad could happen to our main character at any time and primarily because Klimov allows us to see the incredibly disturbing facial expressions of Florya in silence after such an event numerous times, so we can truly reflect on how terrible these events were, and to show how further down the path to madness he was getting. The soundtrack is haunting and eerie ever since the first bombs fall in the film, and all this makes gives it a kind of horror esque feeling which doesn't happen all that often in war films. Platoon is often called a great anti-war statement, but Platoon has lighthearted scenes with some witty dialogue, whereas when the violence starts in Come and See, it is basically one ride akin to peering into the depths of hell itself.
I would say the later chapter of the film is a bit too focused on trying too hard to let us hate the Germans while creating a bit of a lack of characterization, yet the entire village burning scene is so emotionally draining to the extreme, edited so well and filmed with such grace that this doesn't truly matter to the overall quality of the film. The visuals also speak for themselves, with one hellish picture after another when the violence starts bursting out, and this is enhanced by the incredible use of sound and sound editing to create a narrative in itself. However, this doesn't mean that the film doesn't have a narrative, as this is established so well in the first half hour or forty five minutes of the film.
This all sums up Come and See as one of the most powerful of all war films, due to its ability to show violence as such an inhumane action due to its incredible visuals, sound, facial expressions & acting. It is highly disturbing and it is not for the faint hearted, as its depressing nature and soundtrack and realistic portrayal of the brutality of war result in a terrifying experience, yet it is also one of the few war films that is able to truly move you with its honesty and brutality.