Come and See ~ Elem Klimov (1985)
This is a film that was completely off my radar. I had not even heard of it and knew nothing of its content. It's not available from Criterion, but I viewed it on Filmstruck.
Come and See, the title being a reference to the book of Revelations, sheds light on a series of atrocities committed in World War 2 by the Germans as they occupied one of the western-most regions of Russia. It's known today as Belarus and is located just on the eastern side of Poland. A heavily Jewish region, the Germans completely destroyed hundreds of villages, often by locking the citizens in barns and setting them on fire. Klimov went through much hardship in getting the film made. It was adapted from a book by a survivor of one of these villages, and shows the devastation and horrendous effects of war through the eyes of a teenager who joined the partisan resistance forces after his entire family was killed. He was spared only because he had wandered off into the woods.
The film was finally approved ostensibly to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the victorious end of WW2, and was very popular in Russia upon release. There are no battle scenes, but the atrocities shown are powerful, important to recognize, and difficult to watch. The young actor who played the boy was an amateur, and to help him with his emotional journey the filming took place in chronological order over nine months.
I was amazed by the controlled chaos of the final scenes of the barn burning. Klimov used semi-long Steadicam shots and the scenes are riveting and horrifying. The notes in the Wikipedia entry cite influences on Steven Spielberg for his later films Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. The scenes also remind me of the general chaotic style in Children of Men - and Alfonso Cuaron took the long shots even further in that film. Come and See also reminded me of Battle of Algiers in some ways. Both are profound, important films that are so gritty and realistic that they seem like documentaries. The final scenes, where the young boy finally breaks from his brutal treatment and in frustration shoots a photo of Hitler is amazing. It's accompanied by a unique look back at Hitler's life in a flashing montage that struck me as an homage to the Russian heritage of filmmakers such as Eisenstein and his Battleship Potemkin. It's considered by some to be an "anti-war masterpiece" and has also been called the greatest anti-war film of all time. Come and See is a brutal, impressive movie that I recommend highly. A
Come and See, the title being a reference to the book of Revelations, sheds light on a series of atrocities committed in World War 2 by the Germans as they occupied one of the western-most regions of Russia. It's known today as Belarus and is located just on the eastern side of Poland. A heavily Jewish region, the Germans completely destroyed hundreds of villages, often by locking the citizens in barns and setting them on fire. Klimov went through much hardship in getting the film made. It was adapted from a book by a survivor of one of these villages, and shows the devastation and horrendous effects of war through the eyes of a teenager who joined the partisan resistance forces after his entire family was killed. He was spared only because he had wandered off into the woods.
The film was finally approved ostensibly to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the victorious end of WW2, and was very popular in Russia upon release. There are no battle scenes, but the atrocities shown are powerful, important to recognize, and difficult to watch. The young actor who played the boy was an amateur, and to help him with his emotional journey the filming took place in chronological order over nine months.
I was amazed by the controlled chaos of the final scenes of the barn burning. Klimov used semi-long Steadicam shots and the scenes are riveting and horrifying. The notes in the Wikipedia entry cite influences on Steven Spielberg for his later films Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. The scenes also remind me of the general chaotic style in Children of Men - and Alfonso Cuaron took the long shots even further in that film. Come and See also reminded me of Battle of Algiers in some ways. Both are profound, important films that are so gritty and realistic that they seem like documentaries. The final scenes, where the young boy finally breaks from his brutal treatment and in frustration shoots a photo of Hitler is amazing. It's accompanied by a unique look back at Hitler's life in a flashing montage that struck me as an homage to the Russian heritage of filmmakers such as Eisenstein and his Battleship Potemkin. It's considered by some to be an "anti-war masterpiece" and has also been called the greatest anti-war film of all time. Come and See is a brutal, impressive movie that I recommend highly. A