A WWII movie featuring a ‘sickening 25-minute sequence from hell’ has been voted one of the ‘highest rated of all time.’
The historical war film, recognized for its harrowing scenes, is universally lauded and described as a must-see.
Discussing it on social media, one person writes: “It is horrifying, accurate, [and] devastating in every sense.”
Another adds: “This isn’t a fun and enjoyable film but it’s a necessary one.”
“One of the most disturbing films I’ve ever seen,” a third says. “This is going to stick with me for a long time, truly a testament to the devasting power of cinema.”
The Soviet anti-war film is primarily based on the 1971 novel ‘Khatyn’ by Ales Adamovich, and the 1977 collection of survivor testimonies in ‘I Am from the Fiery Village.’
Directed by Soviet-Russian director Elem Klimov, who drew on his childhood war experiences, it follows the Nazi-German occupation of Belarus and events witnessed by a teenager called Flyora (played by Aleksei Kravchenko).
The film was shot chronologically, following Flyora as he goes from a carefree boy to a person scarred by atrocities.
In one particularly harrowing 25-minute sequence, dubbed ‘one of the most sickening depictions of wartime’ as per Collider, the young boy is captured by Nazis who hold a gun to his head, forcing him to watch as a whole village is being burnt alive in a church.
Kravchenko, who did not act for a decade after the movie, said he was treated as ‘a grown-up person’ during his time on set and was expected ‘to work to the sweat of my brow.’
Come and See, with its impressive Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 96%, ranked 41st in the Sight and & Sound Directors’ poll of the Greatest Films of all Time.
Praising the movie, The Playlist‘s Robert Daniels wrote: “By telling the story from a child’s perspective, Klimov gives the horrors of war a new kind of immediacy. Not one born from stern men turned tragically hollow, but from a pure spirit prematurely drained of their innocence.”
Matt Brunson for Film Frenzy added: “One of the most devastating depictions of conflict ever placed on screen.”
Mountain Xpress‘ Ken Hanke penned: “Perhaps the most terrifying, nightmarish film anyone has ever made about war.”
Over on Letterboxd, the social media platform for reviewing movies, users have voted it as the ‘highest narrative feature film of all time.’
Kravchenko even revealed he was hypnotized to help him cope with shooting some of the most horrific scenes in the film.
However, per IMDb, he turned out not to be susceptible to hypnosis and had to pretend all the way.
Kilmov told Kravchenko to lose weight for the role as he was too rosy-cheeked and went on an inch diet, where he would only drink water for two days on end along with jogging for hours a day, per a YouTube interview.
Krachenko was even shown footage of Nazi concentration camps by the director to set the tone of the direction of the movie.
Klimov described the film as ‘a passionate warning against war.’
Come and See also uses archive footage from Nazi Germany to show that despite the film being so terrifying it is nothing compared to what the real people live through
Watch the trailer for Come and See below…