Come and See (1985)
8.21 /10
1843 Reviews
Rate This Movie:
The invasion of a village in Belarus by German forces sends young Florya into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha, who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Florya finds his family and fellow peasants massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.
Videos & Photos
cast
... Flyora Gayshun
... Glasha
... Kosach
... Rubezh
... Obersturmführer
User reviews
This has got to be the perfect antidote to the Hollywood treatment of a war film. It's bleak, grim and repulsive - and all in a great, intentional, cinematographic fashion. The thread centres around the young "Flyora" (a superb effort from Aleksey Kravchenko) who is taken from his Belorussian family farm at gunpoint (along with anything it's possible to eat) by the invading Nazi troops. What now ensues follows this young man as he escapes his captors, finds an old rifle and determines to join up with the communists who are fighting almost insurmountable odds to thwart their encroaching, heavily armed, foe. What really resonates here is the simplicity of the production. There are no specials effects, no CGI to create many when there are few - it tells the simplest of stories in a manner that is truly brutal at times, then truly evocative at others. Man's inhumanity to man and all that - but writ large and depicting an invading army devoid of any semblance of humanity on just about every level. The experiences of this young man are truly horrific, but the presentation here is not especially graphic - though it's not for the faint hearted. We are shown what is happening, but Elem Klimov leaves plenty of scope for our own imagination to augment, if that is actually possible, the true grotesqueness of war, of random killings and destruction and all quite possibly exacerbated by the fact that the conquerors had no real idea what they were doing, or why - the film almost imbues them with the characteristics of the wildest of animals who enjoy their regime of torture and malevolence for the sake of it. The ending has a certain degree of vindication about it - but oddly enough it's not especially satisfying. The emotional exhaustion of the viewer has long since set in, and the true fate of what I can only really call these uniformed bullies is just, yet somehow inadequate. The film is gently paced, it could almost be a video diary as young "Flyora" meets and hides from those he encounters and we share his fears and risks en route. This is really well worth a watch but it's not an easy one.
Director:
Release Date:
1985-10-17
Run Time:
142 min
MMPA Rating:
NR
Reviews of
Come and See
This has got to be the perfect antidote to the Hollywood treatment of a war film. It's bleak, grim and repulsive - and all in a great, intentional, cinematographic fashion. The thread centres around the young "Flyora" (a superb effort from Aleksey Kravchenko) who is taken from his Belorussian family farm at gunpoint (along with anything it's possible to eat) by the invading Nazi troops. What now ensues follows this young man as he escapes his captors, finds an old rifle and determines to join up with the communists who are fighting almost insurmountable odds to thwart their encroaching, heavily armed, foe. What really resonates here is the simplicity of the production. There are no specials effects, no CGI to create many when there are few - it tells the simplest of stories in a manner that is truly brutal at times, then truly evocative at others. Man's inhumanity to man and all that - but writ large and depicting an invading army devoid of any semblance of humanity on just about every level. The experiences of this young man are truly horrific, but the presentation here is not especially graphic - though it's not for the faint hearted. We are shown what is happening, but Elem Klimov leaves plenty of scope for our own imagination to augment, if that is actually possible, the true grotesqueness of war, of random killings and destruction and all quite possibly exacerbated by the fact that the conquerors had no real idea what they were doing, or why - the film almost imbues them with the characteristics of the wildest of animals who enjoy their regime of torture and malevolence for the sake of it. The ending has a certain degree of vindication about it - but oddly enough it's not especially satisfying. The emotional exhaustion of the viewer has long since set in, and the true fate of what I can only really call these uniformed bullies is just, yet somehow inadequate. The film is gently paced, it could almost be a video diary as young "Flyora" meets and hides from those he encounters and we share his fears and risks en route. This is really well worth a watch but it's not an easy one.
Cast & Crew of
Come and See
Cast
... Flyora Gayshun
... Glasha
... Kosach
... Rubezh
... Obersturmführer
... Sturmbannführer
... Village Headman
... Gezhel
... Chief of Staff of the Partisan Detachment
... Medical NCO
... German
... Jew
... Little Policeman
... Flyora's friend
... Partisan with Glasses
...
... Partisan
... Elderly Partisan
... Gleb Vasiliyevich
... Policeman
... Kazik
... Partisan Disguised as a German Soldier
... Policeman
... Flyora's Mother
... Partisan
... Mother (uncredited)
... Kosach (voice) (uncredited)
... German Woman in the Car (uncredited)
... Part-bit (uncredited)
... Partisan (uncredited)
... German with a Tambourine (uncredited)
... Village Girl (uncredited)
Crew
... Director
... Editor
... Original Music Composer
... Production Design
... Costume Design
... Makeup Artist
... Director of Photography
... Screenplay
... Screenplay
... Steadicam Operator
... Producer
... Sound
... Makeup Artist
... Makeup Artist
Similar Movies To
Come and See
Gandhi (1982)
7.563/10
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.
Release: 1982-12-01
Closely Watched Trains (1966)
7.21/10
At a village railway station in occupied Czechoslovakia, a bumbling dispatcher’s apprentice longs to liberate himself from his virginity. Oblivious to the war and the resistance that surrounds him, this young man embarks on a journey of sexual awakening and self-discovery, encountering a universe of frustration, eroticism, and adventure within his sleepy backwater depot.
Release: 1966-11-18
Platoon (1986)
7.747/10
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
Release: 1986-12-19
Persona (1966)
8.13/10
A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.
Release: 1966-10-18
Videodrome (1983)
7.248/10
As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.
Release: 1983-02-04
Bones and All (2022)
7.011/10
Abandoned by her father, a young woman embarks on a thousand-mile odyssey through the backroads of America where she meets a disenfranchised drifter. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.
Release: 2022-11-18
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
7.819/10
A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.
Release: 1968-06-12
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
7.394/10
American tourists David and Jack are savagely attacked by an unidentified animal while hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. After retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon begins experiencing disturbing changes to his body and mind.
Release: 1981-08-21
The Rules of the Game (1939)
7.5/10
The Marquis de la Chesnaye and his wife host a weekend gala where a variety of complicated romantic and social entanglements between guests and servants lead to tragedy, all against the backdrop of a looming war.
Release: 1939-07-09
Vampyr (1932)
7.3/10
Allan Gray, a young man fascinated by the supernatural, goes to a small village where he feels a sinister force descending upon him. There, Allan meets an old man who asks him to protect his two daughters, for one of them has been bitten by a vampire.
Release: 1932-05-06
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
7.973/10
A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.
Release: 1928-04-21
See You in the Next War (1980)
5.111/10
The two enemies from war, Slovenian partisan Berk and German soldier Bitter, meet each other during holidays in Spain. Recalling the war through conversation, Berk remembers Anton, his fellow comrade he had spend the most time with.
Release: 1980-02-04
False Freedom (2014)
5.8/10
The name "Voss" is given to a high-ranking Nazi criminal who flees from Germany to South America after the end of the Second World War, like hundreds of thousands of other people. The escape route leads across the Alps and South Tyrol to Genoa and from there by ship to a supposedly better world in South America. Most of these refugees were "displaced persons", i.e. people who had become homeless. Many Nazi criminals also used the same escape route to reach safety. The film depicts the conflicts that arise during the flight, but also in South America, where perpetrators and victims meet again. The main characters of the film, he a murderer, she a survivor of Nazi terror, help each other on the run and experience for the first time what it means to love. Only gradually does it become clear who has which past and whether their love can still endure.
Release: 2014-02-15
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
7.8/10
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
Release: 1957-10-11
M (1931)
8.062/10
In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.
Release: 1931-05-11
Umberto D. (1952)
7.9/10
When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.
Release: 1952-01-20
In the Mood for Love (2000)
8.1/10
In 1960s Hong Kong, two neighbors form an intimate bond after making a discovery about their spouses in this visually stunning tale of unrequited love.
Release: 2000-09-29
2046 (2004)
7.228/10
Women enter and exit a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years after the author loses the woman he considers his one true love.
Release: 2004-09-29
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
7.304/10
A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.
Release: 1987-12-23
Pearl Harbor (2001)
6.935/10
The lifelong friendship between Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker is put to the ultimate test when the two ace fighter pilots become entangled in a love triangle with beautiful Naval nurse Evelyn Johnson. But the rivalry between the friends-turned-foes is immediately put on hold when they find themselves at the center of Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Release: 2001-05-21