Come and See Review: A Harrowing Vision of War
9/10 — Come and See (1985)
Pros
- Kravchenko's astonishing performance
- Immersive sound and camera
- Unforgettable power
Cons
- Extremely harrowing
- Exhausting
In 1943, a Belarusian teenager, Flyora, joins the partisans and witnesses the horror of the German occupation. Elem Klimov made it with a cast of non-professional actors, and the film is deliberately disturbing.
What works
Aleksei Kravchenko’s face captures a child aging in front of our eyes, and the use of sound and handheld camerawork creates an almost hallucinatory sense of dread. The village massacre scene is unforgettable.
Where it falters
It’s relentless, horrifying and exhausting, and not for casual viewing.
Verdict
A devastating, powerful anti-war film that demands to be seen.
