[MOVIE] Come and See

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julianj

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I am surprised that no-one has posted Come and See (1985) directed by Elem Klimov, which I consider one of the top war films of all time - equal to Das Boot. [WARNING]: this is one of the most harrowing films I have ever seen, and the last 20+ minutes are as riveting and horrible as THAT SCENE in Downfall. Do not watch it with children or people of a sensitive disposition.

That said, it is totally brilliant, and has real cinematic power and magic. The constantly roving camera follows a young lad who joins the partisans fighting against the Germans on the Russian front in WW2. There's little or no explanation for anything so it's like you are in some hallucination or nightmare.

I rewatched it a couple of years ago on my home cinema system and it has lost none of its power.

I'd give it a 9.5. The only weakness it has is the Germans are all "Beasts in Human Form" - they really are portrayed as 100% monsters (I giggled nervously as the soldier brutalising a woman stops for a ciggy break - it's almost cartoonish at that point).

Film Trivia: a night scene uses actual tracer bullets (no CGI in those days) - I bet that wouldn't be allowed by H & S nowadays! I haven't linked to the trailer because it gives away some things that IMO it shouldn't. comeandsee1.jpgcomeandsee2.jpgcomeandsee3.jpg
 
julianj said:
I am surprised that no-one has posted Come and See (1985) directed by Elem Klimov, which I consider one of the top war films of all time - equal to Das Boot. [WARNING]: this is one of the most harrowing films I have ever seen, and the last 20+ minutes are as riveting and horrible as THAT SCENE in Downfall. Do not watch it with children or people of a sensitive disposition.

That said, it is totally brilliant, and has real cinematic power and magic. The constantly roving camera follows a young lad who joins the partisans fighting against the Germans on the Russian front in WW2. There's little or no explanation for anything so it's like you are in some hallucination or nightmare.

I rewatched it a couple of years ago on my home cinema system and it has lost none of its power.

I'd give it a 9.5. The only weakness it has is the Germans are all "Beasts in Human Form" - they really are portrayed as 100% monsters (I giggled nervously as the soldier brutalising a woman stops for a ciggy break - it's almost cartoonish at that point).

Film Trivia: a night scene uses actual tracer bullets (no CGI in those days) - I bet that wouldn't be allowed by H & S nowadays! I haven't linked to the trailer because it gives away some things that IMO it shouldn't. View attachment 15822View attachment 15823View attachment 15824
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I have this movie..it's immense. Stalingrad (1993) is really good too.
 
@Badger73: It is on Amazon as a DVD and Blu Ray. One of the reccommends under it was a film called White Tiger - another Russian film about hunting a mysterious Tiger tank at the end of the war, which sounds intriguing...
 
Sempai said:
Lost mne as it (as almost always) shows the germans as beasts only! So no need to watch this.
Greetings
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Fair enough. I too think very little of a WW2 film which portrays Germans 'per se' as monsters. However, I do think portraying the SS as amoral beasts is not too far off the mark. I'd like to see what this film does. On the other hand, Quintin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds" portrays Allied forces in a very unflattering light.
 
Badger73 said:
On the other hand, Quintin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds" portrays Allied forces in a very unflattering light.
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I don't rate it much as a film, or a portrayal of the allies. It's just a joke of a film. When you know what the real OSS/SOE etc and resistance went through, it is an insult. Come and See is a vastly better film and gives you an idea of what the Russians suffered and how deep the wounds remain,the "Immortal Regiment" parades for example, so I can forgive it the portrayal of Germans as bloodthirsty maniacs.
 
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