★★★★½

Come and See (1985)

Written by Dalton Welsh - June 23, 2020

Come and See is a 1985 drama set in Russia during WWII and follows the journey of a young boy named Florya, who joins the resistance group of his village as the Nazis begin to invade. Portraying the real and harrowing effects of WWII through the eyes of a child, director Elem Klimov delivers one of the most faithful, purposeful, and powerfully unflinching depictions of war on film, highlighting how sensationalized these battles have become in cinema. With the maddening and relentless nature of war displayed through careful attention to the soundscape of the horror, set against the backdrop of a beautifully captured chill and bleak Russian landscape.

Klimov’s tale of the demonstrably disturbing nature of war and how it changes and affects everyone surrounding it, portrays a clear and firm anti-war intendment. Some of the scenes of torment and violence may feel hyperbolically despondent until you find out that the film is allegedly quite historically accurate. Making these tragic scenes all the more emotionally effecting given their real-world applicability. The poignant nature of the film going a long way to highlighting, for English speaking audiences, how foreign countries were affected by the war.

Kilmov’s ideas are elevated by the choice to tell the story with young Florya as the protagonist. With actor Aleksei Kravchenko giving one of the greatest child performances put to screen. We see a perfectly constructed progression from Florya as he becomes further demoralized and disheartened by the scenes of violence and heartache, making for a film that is thematically successful although at times painful to watch. The film doesn’t have a strict plot by any means, instead vowing to simply follow Florya surviving the world around him, putting a lot of weight onto the actor’s shoulders, who nonetheless pulls it off with flying colours. The film additionally makes little use of dialogue, with Kravchenko again up to the task giving a heartbreaking, emotive, non-verbal performance.

Because of this absence of dialogue more attention is given to the sound design of the film. The sound of the tanks, the motorbikes, the gunfire, the flames, and the explosives have such raw and powerful energy that further engrosses you in the film. The attention on the diegetic sounds as opposed to more attention to score further grounding the story. The film has a similar use of music to Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”, in that the frequent absence of music makes the points at which it is included more effectively resonant.

The captivating sound design is juxtaposed with the equally compelling visuals of the baron Russian countryside. Having an environment that is infrequently seen in mainstream cinema automatically makes the production intriguing to watch. The film often makes use of the lighting at dusk which portrays a great natural beauty and fuels the films overarching nightmarish aura. The yellow and red of the flames and gunfire burning atop the dim purple sunlight and fog is nothing short of dazzling. If the beautiful scenery wasn’t enough the manner in which it is captured by cinematographer Aleksei Rodionov is truly ahead of its time. The long takes and tracking shots following the characters and vehicles are not just successful on a technical level but are also greatly effective in enhancing the real time nature of the story and giving an all encompassing sense of the surrounding environment. The way that Rodionov can make a compellingly almost absurdist composition out of the mise-en-scene of characters and environment is a great credit to the film’s visual aesthetic and does wonders for capturing the madness of the world.

So, while at times ‘Come and See’ can be challenging to watch, the film deserves to be seen and appreciated for its strong artistic merits and its profound statement on the nature of war. With an astounding performance from Aleksei Kravchenko, pouring his heart into his portrayal of the tormented soul of Florya. Paired with an audio-visual spectacle that makes expert use of its surrounding environment in terms of lighting and visual orientation, as well as the grounded visceral sounds of destruction and weaponry. All of this brought together by director Elem Klimov, who must be commended for his dedication and talent in the art of filmmaking.