I thought Band of Brothers was amazing but hard to watch and then I saw COME AND SEE

Rating: 10/10 (9 February 2011)

Directed by Elem Klimov in 1985 for the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of WWII. The name COME AND SEE is taken from a biblical quote. The film is a visual nightmare about the Soviets battle to defeat the Nazi's during WWII. The movie takes place in Byelorussia in 1943. The first words, "Are you crazy?" ring out as 2 young children are seen digging in the sand. The story centers on Florya, a twelve-year-old boy that wants to join the partisans. His dad warns him not to dig in the sand because bad things would happen. This sets the tone for Florya's survival through out the rest of the film.
The soundtrack complements the subjective point of view. Elem Klimov directs the story in contrast to "cause and effect" and shows the effect that leads to the cause. His honesty revealed the behavior of the Byelorussia's and how, at times, they aren't perfect and often mistreat each other.
Throughout the movie Klimov uses many close up and extreme close ups. His stylistic trait, having the actors looking through the lens thus created a hypnotic trance like feeling. How does one actually survive the horrors of such abominations to one's race without going crazy? Chills ran through my body numerous times while watching and I actually felt sick as bombs dropped around Florya and a young girl, Glasha, in the forest. Florya decides to continue the journey with the partisans and the movie ends with a cyclical theme by introducing a new young boy who joins the partisans, it's Florya so to speak - a few weeks earlier.