An unexpected reality

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2012)

Come and See, directed by Elem Klimov, is a film that displays what the Russians experienced during World War II. Far from propaganda, the film instills the horrors of war. It is a chilling reality of what war is actually like. Flor, the protagonist, like many, sees war as a fun experience, an experience that could be boasted to friends and family. But with Flor we learn the truth of such an experience; war is hell on earth.
The first time Flor shoots his rifle is at Hitler's image through a repressive and symbolic montage. He shoots at the every regressive image of Hitler that appears on the screen except for the last image of Hitler as a baby in his mother's arms. Klimov is letting us know that we can't undo history. What is written can't be taken back yet it can only be learned from. Flor loses his innocence through his experience of war but learns the cause for fighting. This, among other advantages, helped the Russians defeat Nazi Germany in World War II.