A Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (21 April 2009)

Come and See is a bleak and violence look of the Second World War in the small nation of Belarussia in the USSR. It is a powerful, tough but rewarding watch.
The film focuses on Florya (Aleksei Kravchenko), a teenage boy, I guess around 16, who finds a Soviet rifle buried in his village. He is quickly recruited into the Soviet Partisans to join the fight against the Nazis. As the troops are about to leave their base in the forest Florya's commander decides to leave the young man behind. Florya befriends a young, but mad girl, Glasha (Olga Mironova) who was fancied by all the men in the base. Both head back to Florya's village but find that the whole population, including his family had been murdered by the Germans. Florya withdraws and joins a small platoon, leaving Glasha behind. After the platoon is killed Florya ends up in another village just in time for to the Nazis exterminate the population.
Come and See is a war film, but not in the traditional way. You don't see any set piece battles. The director, Elem Klimov, treats the film as an art house film, focusing on Florya's character, lost of innocent, and physical ageing. Many shots focuses on character faces and is shot in a grim style, a symbol of the war. The main theme of is the destruction and madness of war. It show how horrible the war on the Eastern front was, with massive civilian casualties. In historical terms the Germans scored a big own goal because the Soviet population hated Stalin and his regime. Their treated the Germans are liberators, but the Germans never used this public support and ended up killing a large proportion of the population. The character of Glasha to me represents the madness, but surprising incitement, of war. Compared to Florya who was innocent and looses it during the film. Their is also a religious subtext to the film. The title Come and See is a reference of 'The Apocalypse of John'. During the film the Horsemen of the Apocalypse are referenced. The title could also mean seeing the apocalypse that the Nazis were causing. Finally whilst watching the film it sort of reminded me of the Medieval period, with the Partisan forces living in a forest in wooden shacks, the villages being medieval in style, with technology and the wooden houses, to the athorities the Nazis forced on the locals.
It is a powerful film about the madness of war. A must see.