An Unblinking Look at Unfettered Violence in War

Rating: 10/10 (25 March 2013)

Simply put, this is a devastating indictment of man's capacity for evil. Seen through the eyes of a peasant boy who cheerfully volunteers to fight invaders, the film follows him on a journey of devastation, as the Nazi machine and the men who power it haphazardly and often joyously destroy everything simple humanity believes in. In it's amazing power and depth of feeling, Come and See joins the handful of great anti-war movies, from Paths To Glory and City Of Life And Death to Fires On The Plain.
This is a very dark film, brilliantly conceived by a director who lived through the period, and delivered with an unblinking eye as entire villages become surreal holocausts. If you are looking for films about the glory of battle, look elsewhere, and if you are easily disturbed by graphic imagery, you might wish to skip this sincere but disturbing journey to it's logical conclusion.