Films like this should be required material for every student at some point in their education.

Rating: 9/10 (3 August 2009)

Such an intense film. What struck me most when watching "Come and See" was that it really made me experience what it must be like to be surrounded by war; to have it in your own back yard. The last war that was fought actually IN the United States was the Civil War (us fighting ourselves nearly 150 years ago). Of course, how can we understand what it's like for people in Iraq when we come into their country and bomb their homes and kill innocent people (sometimes women and children) in the process? Unlike "Saving Private Ryan" and many other war films that use extensive choreographed battle sequences, "Come and See" manages to show the horrors of war without glorifying violence at the same time. Through the use of incredible young actors and devastating scenes that engage all the senses, "Come and See" causes the viewer to lose their own innocence and gradually question their own sanity as they share Florya's journey into the agonizing horrors of war. I can't imagine anyone seeing a film like this and still advocating unnecessary wars like the one in Iraq.