Absolutely haunting, possibly traumatizing

Rating: 10/10 (9 February 2011)

If any movie can induce PTSD or reduce one's expected lifespan simply by viewing it, this is that film. I am not usually in favor of restricting movie viewership, but this is one film that I cannot rightfully recommend to any person under the age of 18. If I had watched this film when I was 12, I would have either created some sort of psychological barrier and have been unable to fully comprehend the events taking place, or I would have been emotionally damaged for life. Possibly both. After viewing "Come and See", I am a changed man. Though it contains no graphic sex, outright gore, or extensive vulgarity, "Come and See" is so powerful it's haunted me long after it ended. I've seen many horror movies (and even more war movies throughout my life, but no film I've ever seen even holds a candle to "Come and See" in terms of psychological trauma. I've heard stories about the horrors of the holocaust and of WWII, my grandfather was even in a concentration camp in Poland during the war- at the tender age of 14, about the same age as the main character in the film. I've read "Night" by Elie Wiesel, and I have seen "Schindler's List," and though I felt great sorrow for the pain of those who lived through such terrible ordeals, at the end of the day all of the stories I'd heard resonated with me as just that; stories (very real stories, but stories nonetheless). This was not the case with "Come and See." Klimov's brilliant directing style is somehow capable of pulling you in and making you feel absolutely helpless against the surrounding evils. Not just sorrow and remorse for the characters, but complete empathy for their pain in a way that is indescribable. "Schindler's List" might be hard to get through at times, but you still remain fully cognizant of the screen separating you from the death and suffering you see. "Come and See" destroys that protective mechanism. As an audience member, you have no feelings of "seeing" the film through a lens, but you "experience" it like you might experience the effects of a hallucinogenic substance that latches onto your brain and changes the very chemicals that determine the way you view the world- in a way I would imagine that is similar to an LSD trip gone horribly wrong. I now have even greater compassion for my grandfather's ordeals, and cannot imagine what I would have done were I in the same position as he. The film raises serious questions about whether or not it is truly "better" to survive a massacre than die in it. Even if you walk out of this film, it's too late. Closing your eyes, covering your ears; all attempts at ignorance are pointless -because "Come and See" goes past your vision and hearing- it penetrates your very consciousness. If you've seen enough to want to turn off the film, it's already too late and you've already felt the film's power. By the end of it, there is no way you'll ever look at war the same way again, and you'll likely remember this film and its lessons for years to come. Every single person considering joining the military, and every single person capable of voting should watch this film, because I guarantee it will cause you to deeply reconsider the choices that could easily send thousands of men into similar situations you see unfolding in "Come and See." Though I am always in favor of watching all great movies at least twice, and though "Come and See" is nothing less than great (if not spectacular), it is one film I dread watching a second time. Be sure to have a pack of cigarettes, black coffee, and/or a stiff drink ready in hand before viewing this film.