... Come and See takes this kind of viewing experience to the next level, serving as a reminder of the horrific brutality humanity does to itself.
Lost in the vast landscapes of 1943 Belorussia, young Florya (Aleksei Kravchenko), on finding a rifle, leaves home to join the partisans, resistance ... Read review
Elem Klimov's powerful, mesmerising and dynamic award winning feature has been deservedly ... more
hailed as one of the greatest war films ever produced.Set in Soviet Belarus during the Second World War, the story follows Florya, a newly enlisted and innocent p...
Elem Klimov's powerful mesmerising and dynamic award winning feature has been deservedly ... more
hailed as one of the greatest war films ever produced. Set in Soviet Belarus during the Second World War the story follows Florya a newly enlisted and innocent...
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Release Date: 1997-07-07, Audio CD, One Little Indian
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item....
Production Year: 2000 - Drama - Director: Giuseppe Tornatore - Original Language: Italian - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Viscerally stunning; raw and horrific; nightmarish and dreamy; subtle Disadvantages: (Arguably) Incredibly draining; won't fit a wide audience
...little uncomfortable whilst watching them. Come and See takes this kind of viewing experience to the next level, serving as a reminder of the horrific brutality humanity does to itself.
Lost in the vast landscapes of 1943 Belorussia, young Florya (Aleksei Kravchenko), on finding a rifle, leaves home to join the partisans, resistance fighters against their German invaders. When the partisans leave to wreak havoc upon the German lines, ... ...in which he is living. Come and See has no structured plot, it's just an artistic flow of the horrors of war through the eyes of a young boy. The flow of the film is like a piece of classical music, that builds up, coming to powerful climaxes. Only, most of Come and See feels like it is a climax, as they come one after the other, each worse than its predecessor. This is what ultimately makes it such a draining, harrowing experience. It works on the ... more
In cinema, there are often films that are superbly made and acted, but don't really serve as entertainment. Schindler's List, for example, is not a film that can be found enjoyable. When films deal with such harrowing issues, like genocide or mass murder, it's impossible not to feel a little uncomfortable whilst watching them. Come and See takes this kind of viewing experience to the next level, serving as a reminder of the horrific brutality humanity does to itself.
Lost in the vast landscapes of 1943 Belorussia, young Florya (Aleksei Kravchenko), on finding a rifle, leaves home to join the partisans, resistance fighters against their German invaders. When the partisans leave to wreak havoc upon the German lines, Florya is left behind and on returning home and finding his family dead, he sets out on a journey which will reveal to him the pure hell in which he is living. Come and See has no structured plot, it's just an artistic flow of the horrors of war through the eyes of a young boy. The flow of the film is like a piece of classical music, that builds up, coming to powerful climaxes. Only, most of Come and See feels like it is a climax, as they come one after the other, each worse than its predecessor. This is what ultimately makes it such a draining, harrowing experience. It works on the basis of a nightmare, concentrating raw horror and to some extent, an element of surrealism. The aim of Come and See is to shock in showing brutality to the point of making a relentless, nightmarish experience.
Director Elem Klimov focuses on making the film as purely cinematic as it can be, expressing the complexity of the issue at the hand through imagery. Florya at the start of the film is fresh faced and youthful in complexion, but as the nightmare drags on, his face harrowingly mentally ages so that eventually he has the appearance of a shrivelled up old man, despite the fact that there has been such little transgression of time. However, the film feels so dreamlike, the viewer does not feel time. Everything, from the endless landscape that feels so isolated from anywhere, to the beauty of nature amidst the nightmare, to the stark, symbolic imagery, to the brooding use of sound, to the non-excessive but beautiful Russian dialogue, the sad yet enchanting slavic eyes ... all of it loses the viewer in the experience of Come and See. One scene, for example, sees a lone shot of Florya wading desperately through a thick bog. The film is packed with such shots, especially emphasising how the young boy is losing both his innocence and his mind. It's a film that can be interpreted in many ways, taking a typical Russian approach in film-making in using the pure cinematic experience to stagger the viewer, but to leave it open to be interpreted.
The unfamiliar faces in the film make the experience all the more hard-hitting. In addition, the Russian language (do not watch it with the dubbing, both because the lip sync is dire and because it takes away the effect) adds to the spectactle. Unless you're Russian, the lack of dialogue and the fact that they speak a language that is alien to so many people, the visceral and dreamlike aura is hammered home. Although we feel the pain and bewilderment of Florya (Kravchenko is so convincing he becomes the petrified boy), we also feel detached through the language but more so because what he is experiencing is something most people cannot relate to, quite simply because they will never have to.
As perceived through the eyes of Florya, the German Einsatzgruppen (ethnic cleansing groups) and SS units are seen to be demonic maniacs. Indeed, the title Come and See comes from the Book of Revelation, where witnesses are subject to come and see the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Everything in the film makes the nightmare feel like the apocalypse, as the Einsatzgruppen sweep mercilessly through the rural villages, burning, ravaging and murdering. Come and See is unlike any other war film; it's set apart by the deep, hellish and biblical feeling, and the sheer sense that it's not based on war, but on horror. Some of the images and occurrences in the film is way beyond what is seen in typical horror, beyond anything any zombies could do. Ironically, however, one would have to be a zombie to committ the atrocities that Florya and the viewer is subject to in this work of art. It raises the question; how can humanity do this to itself? By no means are there any elements of Darwinism -- the survival of the fittest -- in this. There is no mentality, ideology or morals behind it at all. Just mindless death. What both the Russians and Germans are reduced to goes beyond comprehension. It makes the viewer question how accurate the film is, as surely there is no way any of what happens can take place?
As the film was made in the mid eighties towards the end of Communism, it is subject to scepticism from some viewers. Come and See is hardly likely to be sympathetic towards the Germans. In essence though, it is not sympathetic towards the Russians either, as it's just showing the conflict for what it was in the most raw, surreal, nightmarish way. Productions such as the sometimes messy Schindler's List, the clean Hotel Rwanda, and other films dealing with similar topics, although chilling experiences, are weighed down by sentimentality and desire to fit a wide audience. Klimov's film takes it past this level. Come and See bears so much power that it raises questions to a higher extent than it's western cousins, and it's impossible not to be overwhelmed by the spectacle. Advantages and disadvantages cannot be applied, because they are indistingiushable from each other and impossible to define. It just bears many traits. This is not entertainment, and barely even a film. It's a raw piece of art that serves as a reminder as to what humanity will stoop to and how in a nightmare, you are alone and petrified, your mind a prison of insanity. No one can hear or care about your screams.
Come and See is cinema at it's most artistic, terrifying and brutal. It's a hidden gem, but one best left hidden, because once seen it will stay with you more vividly than any other film. The experience, emotionally draining, is unforgettable. And we are just the spectators.
Advantages: Focus on unusual aspect of WWII Disadvantages: Poor acting and direction plus inane dialogue.
...this work. Most imply this is because he achieved perfection. I can only assume that, in reality, this movie finished his career for other reasons.
Come And See stands no comparison with other serious war films. The movie is painful viewing, but not for the reasons intended. ...
oldwease 10.08.2006 (19.08.2006)
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Advantages: Good value, good quality all around Disadvantages: May be a little hard to understand for a first time anime viewer
, but even the worst quality part is excellent so theres no need to worry about it.
*The Menus are simple and easy to use, along with being easy to look at.
*It comes with the standard extras like Trailers (I really do admire the man that manages to sell DVDs for extra money on the fact that it has adverts on it. Really we spend so much time swearing at the adverts we don't want to watch and yet at the same time some people are willing to pay extra to see more adverts.)
*All the discs come in one box which is just slightly thinker than a normal DVD case.
*Subtitles, dubbing and music quality are all excellent. Considering its made by ADV have a good dub is something special.
*****THIS IS A REVIEW I MAY COME BACK TO AND TWEEK THE WORDING OF - SOME IF ITS A BIT DODGY.***** ...
Elem Klimov's stunning COME AND SEE is a relentlessly brutal condemnation of war hidden in the guise of a surrealistic coming-of-age nightmare. A physically and emotionally draining viewing experience, the film follows Florya (played brilliantly by Alexei Kravchenko), a 12-year-old boy living in 1943 Byelorussia. When he digs up an abandoned gun, Florya gleefully signs up with the Russian Army, looking forward to life as a soldier. But that fantasy rapidly deteriorates when the reality of the situation confronts him head-on. Abandoned by his fellow comrades, he stumbles across the weeping Glasha (Olga Mironova), a pretty teenager who has also been left behind. Together, the pair returns to Florya's village only to discover that everyone has been slaughtered Florya's mother and younger sisters included. The journey continues as Florya embarks on a mission to find food for the stranded inhabitants of a neighbouring village. He eventually lands in the middle of another German massacre, where the animalistic Nazis stuff the Russians into a barn and torch it, obliterating Florya's innocence completely. Klimov's unflinching masterpiece is all the more affecting because of the beauty of its imagery. Working on a variety of levels, COME AND SEE speaks both as personal statement and broad metaphor, making it a timeless, unforgettable achievement.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
NOUVEAUX PICTURES; METRODOME DISTRIBUTION; SONY DADC
Release date
24/04/2006
No of Discs
2
Catalogue No
NPD 1034
Barcode
5035017010341
Screenwriter
Elem Klimov, Ales Adamovich
Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Oleg Yanchenko
Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Languages
Main Language
Russian
Dubbed Language
English
Subtitle Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Preface By Director, Interviews With Alexei Kravchenko And Production Designer Victor Petrov, Chronicles 1 And 2 Featuring Archive Newsreel Footage, Filmographies, Photo Album
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English Russian
Professional reviews
Review
This is war as Hollywood could never portray (Empire, )
Klimov alternates the horrors of war with occasional fairy tale-like images; together they imbue the film with an unapologetically disturbing quality that persists long after the credits roll... (Entertainment Weekly, )
DVD Description
Elem Klimov's stunning COME AND SEE is a relentlessly brutal condemnation of war hidden in the guise of a surrealistic coming-of-age nightmare. A physically and emotionally draining viewing experience, the film follows Florya (played brilliantly by Alexei Kravchenko), a 12-year-old boy living in 1943 Byelorussia. When he digs up an abandoned gun, Florya gleefully signs up with the Russian Army, looking forward to life as a soldier. But that fantasy rapidly deteriorates when the reality of the situation confronts him head-on. Abandoned by his fellow comrades, he stumbles across the weeping Glasha (Olga Mironova), a pretty teenager who has also been left behind. Together, the pair returns to Florya's village only to discover that everyone has been slaughtered Florya's mother and younger sisters included. The journey continues as Florya embarks on a mission to find food for the stranded inhabitants of a neighbouring village. He eventually lands in the middle of another German massacre, where the animalistic Nazis stuff the Russians into a barn and torch it, obliterating Florya's innocence completely. Klimov's unflinching masterpiece is all the more affecting because of the beauty of its imagery. Working on a variety of levels, COME AND SEE speaks both as personal statement and broad metaphor, making it a timeless, unforgettable achievement.
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