Shocking and Unforgettable

Rating: 10/10 (11 June 2009)

The lead in this movie is a young boy named Florian who joins the Partisans against the will of his mother. When the Partisans go to war, he is ordered to stay back at their camp with the women and elderly. He meets a girl named Glasha who also stays behind. Both of them get into a bomb attack but miraculously survive. Florian finally leads Glasha back to his village to seek rescue at his mother's place but finds it deserted. He decides that his family must have sought refuge in the nearby forest.
When Florian and Glasha arrive in the forest, they run into a group of survivors. He finds out that his family and most of the villagers have been murdered. Florian wants to help but after a failed attempt, he watches how the survivors are forced into a church to be burned alive. Florian was fortunate enough to escape, but the traumatizing experiences let him age within a short period of time. Florian's wrinkled face in the end of the movie is the face of the war.
Klimov gives us no information about specific places or events. Even though he gives the SS Commander a historical name, and the German soldiers are played by German actors, it doesn't make a difference for the movie because everything that happens is directly affecting our protagonist, Florian. It appears that Klimov's "Come and See" doesn't just represent WW2 but stands for all wars.
"Come and See" is by far one of the most shocking, horrifying and visually stunning anti-war movies that I have ever seen. Everyone should watch this cinematic masterpiece. You only have to watch this film once because you will never forget it.