The Lost of Innocence in the Cruelties of War

Rating: 8/10 (23 August 2009)

In 1943, in Byelorussia, the naive teenager Florya Gaishun (A. Kravchenko) seeks a weapon to be accepted by the Resistance. He joins the revolutionary army but the rookie partisan is left behind with the girl Glasha (O. Mironova). They return to Florya's village, but they discover that his mother, the twin sisters and friends had been killed by the German army. They cross a swamp and find survivors in starvation; Florya and three other comrades go to Perekhodi to bring food for the survivors. However they are attacked by the German soldiers and only the boy survives. He meets a farmer that brings him home but the ruthless and savage German forces has already reached the village where Florya loses the rest of his innocence with the cruelties of the invaders.
Idi I Smotri" is an impressively realistic drama of war depicting the lost of innocence of a young teenager with the cruelties of war. The endurance of the lead character is amazing, experiencing and surviving to the most brutal situations. The direction and the performances are superb, giving the sensation of a documentary to the viewer. There are many impressively crude and disturbing sequences that are not recommended for sensitive viewers, or people that has lived the horrors of a war. If you like realistic non-Hollywoodian movies, go and see this gem. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Vá e Veja" ("Go and See")