Best War Movie Ever!

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2011)

Come and See directed by Elem Klimov is by far one of the most powerfully captured, heartbreaking, and eye-opening films I have ever seen. It made me sleep with unease for 3 nights straight. Klimov captured every emotion out of me in: I laughed, I cried, I screamed, I yelled, I clenched my teeth. This movie also teased my 5 senses: I tasted the mud in the swamp as Florya and Glasha were struggling to get across. I smelt the fire from barn in the small village, while people were burning inside, and Nazis were laughing. I heard the flies buzzing around Florya's home giving off a sense of death, decay, and abandonment. I saw Florya go from the primal immature young boy, to an old man in a matter of days. I could feel the hardship, the sadness, the love that Florya felt for Glasha, and the Resistance coming to life.
Klimov's timing in making this movie is very pertinent because in 1985 the world was amidst a Nuclear Holocaust. This movie helps to show the reality of war, the resistance against war, and the toll that it has on every person. Aleksei Rodionov's cinematic elements really brought this movie alive. Each shot was filmed so impressively with illustrations and truth brought out in a significant matter. The death of the cow, the bombs falling out of the sky, the transformation of Florya was all captured effectively. Klimov was not afraid of exposing the truth no matter how foul and dehumanizing it was. Having Rodionov as his cinematographer helped assure that the story would not miss guide the viewer, rather assure the audience of the Nazi cruelty and the Russian Resistance. One scene in particular that was very emotional was the burning of the people in the small village. At that moment I had to hide my face and say to myself, "this is just a moviethis is just a movie." Right as I turned back the camera zooms to the door and people are knocking at it vigorously, showing the reality of the situation and that people were actually in there. If Rodionov had not panned to the door, I could have blocked out the memory and the pain rather than having to feel even more uncomfortable and shocked, as they wanted us to feel. You can see the recklessness of the Nazi's and their inhuman ways in multiple encounters in this movie; they treat the Russians like animals, like scum on their feet. However the Resistance Movement of Russian comes to beat them. The last scene was cinematography at its finest, with the camera taking its own path to find snow on the ground assuring the audience of the defeat, because Russian's always win war when winter comes along.
Florya played brilliantly by Aleksey Kravchenko is an interesting character. He passionately wanted a gun, and to fight in the war but is left behind. The war breaks out in front of him anyway and ends up changing his life forever. I don't think he realizes exactly why he wanted to fight until he saw in his very own eyes what had been happening. The Nazi's felt nothing from this little boy, as they felt for the old lady however he was a big part to their downfall and deaths. He never shoots his gun until the end when he fervently shoots the Hitler photo. All of his anger and rage came out in that last moment, which also showed a reverse montage of Hitler taking him back to when he was a kid, explaining that being a child is how everything starts. Florya is no longer was the 'newcomer' and after this long painful experience he decides to go with this people and continue the fight. The musical score and sound track also was a masterpiece in itself. The flies buzzing, the sound of the bombs stinging in Florya's ears, and taking the music from the beautiful Mozart to create an essence of dramatic cinema and is purely accomplished.
This movie is by far a must seeIf you thought you have seen the best of war films, think again. I highly recommend Come and See, to wake up your mind and realize the reality of the war.