Come and See (1985)
AKA: Idi I Smotri
Directed by: Elem Klimov
Starring: Aleksey Kravchenko (Gaishun), Olga Mironova (Glasha)
Country: Soviet Union, European Cinema
Language: Belarusian, Russian (English subtitles)
Runtime: 02:22:25
Genres: Based on a True Story, Military, Nazism, Teen-oriented, Violence Against Animals, Racism
Plot – Spoilers:
A couple of Belarusian kids hope to join the Resistance during the Nazi occupation of WW2. But for this they need guns. They find one buried in the sand and the next day one of them, Gaishun is recruited by the Resistance. Gaishun is thrilled at the prospect of taking on the Nazis and spends the day with a beaming smile that is in contrast to the jaded, weary faces of his older comrades.
But before Gaishun can earn his stripes, the village is bombed and he is left to wander the desolate countryside accompanied by a young girl Glasha who had been rescued by the Resistance.
From the naive thrill of fighting for his land, Gaishun is soon battered into an unstable pulp of fear, insanity and guilt by the realities of war. Guilt because it is suggested the Nazis noticed him digging up guns and so bombed his village.
Come and See is replete with grand scenes that defy conventional depictions of fighting and war.
Favorite Scene:
The one with the cow during a bleak dusk lit up by flares and gunfire.