Come And See (Subtitled and Dubbed) (DVD)

...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.  

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