Visually stunning and packed with intensity. And there's some interesting symbolism and themes as well. The usual coming-of-age theme of exploring life is neatly juxtaposed with the need for escapistic fantasy when faced with the crualties of war. It's like a surrealistic horror version of Empire of the Sun which deals with similar themes.

A hard-hitting film, and I like it better because of that. Things get so heavy, that the film protrude surrealism territory, which makes the horror even more hellish. The ending is terrific, but unfortunately, I think it may be misunderstood by some viewers.

Penetrating, brutal, without hope.

Brutal.

Bleak and dreary, but rather repetitive and (occasionally) dull. While it's powerful in spurts, it doesn't manage to sustain that intensity of feeling for its duration and ends up being a bit of a slog towards the end. And the ending is ridiculously blunt to the point of being laughable. It's also far tamer than I expected. Still, an atmospheric and intermittently tense film - just not the gripping, horrific antiwar statement I had hoped for.

This film beat me over the head with its obvious message so hard that I can't help but resent this a little bit. The acting sucks but like anything about WW2 it is immediately interesting to me and shocking just because of the subject matter at hand. I feel like people love this more for the fantastic use of music rather than the film making itself, because it ain't that great. Let's show another close up of this kids face again, great...

The perfect war film. Not much else to be said.

The insanity and intensity of war has perhaps never been depicted in fictional form better, without really a single actual battle scene. Some of the characterization is a little peculiar, and some of the acting a bit unsubtle, but any such problems are washed away as events unfold. Shades of "Ivan's Childhood" and perhaps others (Herzog or Coppola?), but this does not at all detract from the numerous stunning and affecting images and sequences, and excellent use of music.

Propaganda or not, Come and See is a perfect display of audience manipulation in film, with the right mix of surreal overtones, disturbing visuals and brutal violence, Come and See plays with the viewer like few other films do. It's heavy, it's at times just too much, but it's always gut-wrenchingly intense. Come and See is a film more to be admired as an effort to impact the audience effectively rather than a traditionally entertaining yarn regarding war and its atrocities.

Hugely effective if you're in the right mood, although undoubtedly a couple of bits drag. The ending in particular is very potent; the editing reminded me of a Russian silent.

I can't count the number of times my jaw dropped. From the content as well as how perfectly and expertly it was put to film.

I wasn't the same for days after I saw this. Beautifully crafted and very realistic.

Hitler'in ordusunun insanlari ne hale getirdiginin bir cocuk gibi saf ve temiz bir karakter uzerinden anlatilisi. Karakterin filmin basindan sonuna dogru gelisimi herhangi bir Amerikan filminde kolay kolay göremeyecegimiz derinlikte. Mükemmele yakin bu film, savasi iliklerinize kadar hissettiriyor.

Devastatingly realistic.

it's a film, best movie i've ever seen about the war.

Occasionally powerful, harrowing yet human. Also, far too heavy-handed and disjointed in many frustrating ways.

More horror than a war film, Come and See is unrelenting in its brutality. Klimov gets an impressive performance from the young Kravchenko, whose terror-filled face is basically a theme on its own.

Pure total horror.

The dream-like surrealism, including the almost unbearable soundtrack, make this a unique & incredibly powerful film. The only weakness is the few points where the actions of the occupying German forces -- while basically accurate and based on documented fact -- are portrayed in an almost cartoonish version, which momentarily interrupted the trance the film had me in.

War is hell is surrealism on crack is horror.

There were a few parts that dragged a bit for me, but they don't detract much from an overall superb movie. This is one of the few movies that I'd very readily call "gritty." Everything devolves into grime and misery very quickly, and just when you think things can't possibly get any worse, they get a lot worse.

II. dünya savasi, nazi, almanya, rusya, beyaz rusya, köy yakma, cocuk asker, aileyi katletme, (hikayenin baslamasi uzun sürdü, cok agir görüntüler vardi. yanan adamin konusmasi gibi)

Had to sit on the floor to watch this one.

At times it feels too obvious and overdone but there's no denying the sledgehammer psychological impact. After mulling it over for a few days it works better as a fragmented vision of Dante's Inferno that is complemented by the haunted landscape. Even though I never want to see it again, it makes me want to check out more films from Russia about the war.

#300