Idi i smotri [Come and See] (1985)

(On Cable TV, January 2020) A regular title on Top-100 movie lists, Come and See is unabashedly about the horrors of war, specifically as seen through the eyes of kids forced to grow up too soon. Set during World War II, it follows a Soviet boy as he picks up a rifle and becomes a resistance fighter against the invading Nazis. One of the biggest ironies of the film is that while it’s hard to imagine a more justifiable scenario in which to fight than resisting Nazis, the film pulls absolutely no punches in highlighting that war is hell even in the most understandable of circumstances. What could have been a propaganda film turns into a resolutely anti-war statement. Writer-director Elem Klimov doesn’t flinch and barely provides release in the downbeat arc of the narrative: This brutal film steadily gets grimmer at every passing minute. As a piece of filmmaking, it’s quite an achievement— Come and See ends on a reverse-montage sequence that is still hailed as a landmark. Indeed, the film is such a definitive statement that Klimov never made another movie after this one. You can see why it ends up on so many best-movies lists. You should definitely see it. But maybe just once.