Horror and Hope

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2007)

Klimov's "Come and See" is the one of the greatest World War II films that has been released to date. The film begins with the young Florya ( Aleksei Kravchenko ) searching an old battle ground for a discarded rifle that he hopes to use in the fight against the invading Nazi army. His dreams are nothing more than a child wanting to play soldier. His innocence warms our hearts and yet frightens us because we know this inexperienced young boy can't stand against Hitler's ruthless regime.
Klimov's direction not only makes us sympathize with the young Florya, he makes us become Florya. When a bomb explodes next to Florya, the audio dampens, causing both Florya and ourselves to lose our hearing. When Florya returns back to his home village, we know just as Florya does, that his entire family has been slaughtered but we both refuse to mean it.
I am sure we have all read in our history textbooks the atrocities that the Nazi party brought down upon Europe. We have watched documentaries, gone to museums, perhaps have a relative who lived through the war. But, I guarantee you, nothing will cause your blood to boil and anger to rise up in you than what you see in Klimov's "Come and See". But also, there is a more important message of hope in this film. Florya witnesses countless horrors, and he still refuses to lie down. This film reminds all of us of that (as cliché as it may sound) evil prevails where good people fail to act.