I especially appreciate how the film is shot from the perspective of a boy instead of a soldier. If it was a soldier, I feel as though Klimov would fall into the trap of filming exciting combat scenes, which would be detrimental to the point of the movie. This is a true anti-war movie that sucks all of the energy out of violence.
It’s got that great surrealistic edge to it. That’s what set it apart. It is like taking the experience of being there and tinkering with it—-pushing it with the strident sound design, colors—-to help at least get closer to the actual experience of being there in person, not at home watching a DVD…
I was blown away. I agree all the energy is sucked away from combat violence. The boy’s perspective is a brilliant one—-it carries with it an extra amount of disbelief at the horrors of war because he’s so young!
I’ve finally seen this amazing film. 5/5.
A truly brutal and unsentimental WWII film told from the perspective of a child. Brilliant in every way, with more than a handful of scenes that fall under the “seared into your mind” category.
One of the very best war films I’ve ever seen.
One the best film ever made.
ALEX K: Perhaps the film you have not fully understood, Elem Klimov did not make a propaganda film, he admits to not being a communist. “Come and See” is a deeply anti-Nazi films, but is also a film that teaches the value of Resistance to safeguard their survival.
This is a very effective and affecting picture. It has become one of my favs. I must admit I had the same feelings as Alex K. The German soldiers and collaborating Belarusians as presented are so evil and corrupted that they seem like figures from a Hieronymus Bosch painting. The film is so unrelentingly authentic in tone that this representation of the enemy totally took me out of the moment the first time I saw it. On reflection though I came to the conclusion that this view of the enemy isn’t a function of some pressure from Soviet controllers for propaganda purposes but, like everything else in the film, the boy’s perception of the horrors he is enduring. In that sense it is a Hieronymus Bosch painting.
Joks
“This movie is one of two movies that have been the closest I’ve ever come to feeling like I was watching a dream, the other being Maya Deren’s Meshes in the Afternoon. The scene when the boy is stuck in the bog just set off my, “I’m trying to run but not going anywhere wake up wake up wake up!” dream reaction, hardcore. The sound design is brilliant too, thinking of post-rock/noise/weird music.”
The bog scene is unforgettable. no doubt.