The PERFECT war movie

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2011)

Elem Klimov's "Come and See" is the brilliant film that pioneered the use of cinematic tools to replicate shockingly realistic elements in many war movies and video games that fascinate us today.
Klimov omits the juvenile use of musical tracks, and instead opts to use amplified sound effects ─ most intriguingly during the bombing scene in Act 1 where Klimov simulates the main character's deafness through manipulated magnetic tape.
As hyperbolic as it might sound, the movie is even more brutal than "Schindler's List". Klimov follows the main character's transition from fragile, innocent teenager, to a psychologically disturbed, traumatized, terrified young man after enduring the horrors of war.
"Come and See" commemorates the 40th anniversary of Russia's victory against the Nazis. Interestingly, what is most attractive about this film is how Klimov stays clear of the over-romanticized "war hero" plot in an effort to articulate the need for peace, as opposed to glorify the synthetic triumphs of war.
The film is truly progressive in style without sacrificing its dramatic value, on the contrary, enhancing it. It is without exaggeration among the best movies I have ever seen.