--- title: "Come and See" year: 1985 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/come-and-see" fi1m_id: "come-and-see" imdb_id: "tt0091251" tmdb_id: 25237 wikidata_id: "Q1130395" fi1m_score: 92 critics_score: 85 critics_reviews: 13 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:51.733656+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Come and See (1985) Directed by Elem Klimov · 2h 22m · MPA NR · Drama, War, Horror, History ## Identity Come and See - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/come-and-see - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** come-and-see - **IMDb ID:** tt0091251 - **TMDB ID:** 25237 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1130395 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/25237, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1130395 **Fi1m score: 92** · Critics 85 from 13 reviews *In a sentence:* A boy joins the partisans, and we spend the film wanting someone to send him home > Elem Klimov’s war film makes a boy’s terror almost unbearable through Aleksei Kravchenko’s performance and its punishing sound. We strongly recommend it, despite moments when Klimov presses for an effect the actor has already achieved. ## Synopsis In Soviet Belorussia in 1943, a boy joins the partisans during the Nazi occupation. Aleksei Kravchenko plays Flyora Gayshun, whose experience of the Second World War brings him among civilians exposed to military violence. As he encounters atrocities, the story stays with what he can see and hear, following his struggle to take in what is happening around him. Elem Klimov directs a screenplay written with Ales Adamovich. The cast also includes Olga Mironova as Glasha and Liubomiras Laucevičius as Kosach. ## Review *Come and See* is a war film we would urge people to see, and hesitate to put on without warning. Elem Klimov follows a boy into the partisans in occupied Soviet Belorussia in 1943, keeping the experience close enough to make the usual comforts of the genre feel indecent. There is no safe distance from the suffering here. At 142 minutes, it is a severe demand on our attention, sometimes too insistent in its effects, but the demand is justified. Klimov and co-writer Ales Adamovich put an adolescent at the centre of the story, a choice that could easily have produced a familiar lesson in lost innocence. Kravchenko makes that phrase feel inadequate. His face registers fear with an openness that is difficult to watch; we can read the shock without being allowed to think we have understood its extent. The close-ups keep asking us to look at someone whose ability to make sense of what he sees is being overwhelmed. Alexey Rodionov’s cinematography is crucial to that pressure: the close-ups leave little opportunity to look away from the boy and examine his surroundings. Elsewhere, the images become strange enough to suggest that Flyora can no longer rely on what he sees. Viktor Petrov’s production design keeps the countryside recognisable as a place where people live and work. That everyday setting makes the increasingly strange images harder to dismiss as a bad dream. We were horrified by the bombing raid, particularly the shrill noise that takes over the soundtrack when Flyora’s hearing is damaged. It makes an injury something we have to listen through, without the reassuring separation that a well-staged explosion can provide. Oleg Yanchenko’s music contributes to the disorientation, though it is the damaged hearing that makes the deepest impression. The raid is enough to explain why this belongs as much to horror as to the war film. Valeriya Belova’s editing makes the shifts between recognisable wartime experience and disorientation difficult to settle into. We are not given the rhythm of a conventional action sequence, with each danger neatly placed and then dealt with. That is effective, but it also makes the running time feel punishing. The quieter, more lyrical passages matter because without those changes of pace the film’s ferocity would become easier to shut out. Our reservation is with Klimov’s occasional need to press harder when the performance has already done enough. The insistence can make Flyora seem temporarily reduced to a face on which the director can register another degree of horror. We wanted Klimov to trust Kravchenko enough to ease off. That objection matters in a film so committed to making us attend to a person, though Kravchenko repeatedly gives us someone more particular than a representative victim. Many war films allow us to take satisfaction in courage, endurance or the successful completion of a task. *Come and See* makes that satisfaction hard to find, and we think it is right to do so. Its attention stays with what violence does to the person who has to witness it. See it when you are prepared to give it your full attention, and leave yourself some quiet afterwards. *Fi1m score 92, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Twelve of the thirteen reviews are positive, and many rank it among the war films they most admire. The praise gathers around Aleksei Kravchenko as the boy who joins the partisans, and above all the long close-ups on his face, which several critics single out. The sound design is the other recurring point, especially a bombing raid heard through the boy’s damaged ears as a high whine. Critics also agree on the film’s manner, a mixture of lyrical images and expressionist nightmare that most find disorienting on purpose. The spread is narrow, and both reservations date from the 1987 American release. The New York Times finds the village-burning sequence powerful but the surrounding intrusions heavy-handed, with the boy serving as a vehicle for the director rather than a character. The Los Angeles Times admires the hallucinatory sweep but faults the ending as sentimental and the ageing makeup as too obvious. Later reviews raise neither complaint. ## Straight answers **Is Come and See worth watching?** *Come and See* is worth watching for anyone prepared to give a war film their full attention and some quiet afterwards, and we scored it 92. Aleksei Kravchenko's performance as a boy among the partisans in occupied Belorussia is difficult to look at, and Elem Klimov occasionally presses for horror the actor has already achieved. The demand it makes is justified. **How long is Come and See, and what is it rated?** *Come and See* runs 2h 22m and is rated NR by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and war film. **Where can I watch Come and See in the US?** *Come and See* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Come and See, and is it suitable for children?** *Come and See* carries a UK 15 certificate and is not suitable for children; we would hesitate to put it on for anyone without warning. Its violence is seen through a boy's eyes rather than staged for excitement, and a bombing raid that damages his hearing takes over the soundtrack with a shrill noise we found horrifying. Sensitive teenagers and the squeamish should approach with care. **How does Come and See compare to The Thin Red Line?** *Come and See* is the harder film to sit through, and the one we think holds more tightly together; [*The Thin Red Line*](https://film.one/film/the-thin-red-line) is patient and moving but too fond of its own questions. Both place frightened people in landscapes that remain recognisable as places where life goes on. Choose Klimov for a boy's unrelieved terror and Malick for the wandering, contemplative approach. **What should I watch after Come and See?** After *Come and See*, try [*The Ascent*](https://film.one/film/the-ascent) (1977, Fi1m 88): Another wartime ordeal that makes survival a frighteningly complicated moral question. Then [*The Night of the Shooting Stars*](https://film.one/film/the-night-of-the-shooting-stars) (1982, Fi1m 87): War remembered through childhood, with warmth that never makes the violence manageable; and [*The Thin Red Line*](https://film.one/film/the-thin-red-line) (1998, Fi1m 84): For the uneasy proximity of natural beauty, frightened men and organised killing. ### Reviews we read (13) - **Slant Magazine**, Ed Gonzalez (4/4): The review hails the film as horrifyingly relentless yet beatific in its artistry, capturing the psychological toll of war through dissociative sound and image manipulation. It singles out the demand for the viewer to witness and remember the cataclysmic intrusion of war. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/elem-klimovs-come-and-see/) - **Empire**, Ian Nathan (90/100, inferred): Nathan deems it one of the most powerful and disturbing war movies ever made, an extraordinary piece of filmmaking and a relentless masterpiece. He singles out the physical representation of war through raptured precision cinematography and the unforgettable close-ups of the lead child's face mapping terror and madness. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/come-see-review/) - **Film Comment**, Michael Sragow (90/100, inferred): The critic hails the film as a disturbing, mesmerizing epic with few rivals in depicting the horrors of war, ranking it alongside other apocalyptic visions. He singles out the lead performance by Aleksei Kravchenko for its emotional transparency and the innovative sound and visual techniques that draw viewers into the protagonist's harrowing experience. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/deep-focus-come-and-see/) - **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's searing portrayal of WWII horrors as an expressionist nightmare and coming-of-age tale about confronting evil. It stands out for its poetic, surreal depiction of war from a boy's perspective, blending documentary realism with unforgettable visual poetry. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/come-and-see-1798197252) - **The Independent**, Alex Cox (90/100, inferred): Cox calls Come and See a devastating, genuine anti-war film that stands out for its close-quarters depiction of violence and its effects. He singles out the sound design in a bombing raid sequence, where the protagonist's ruptured eardrums create a high-pitched screaming noise on the soundtrack. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/director-s-cut-the-sound-of-fury-alex-cox-on-an-antiwar-rarity-elem-klimov-s-come-and-see-1536556.html) - **The Telegraph**, Boris Starling (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it one of the greatest movies ever made and the greatest war film, an unflinching descent into the horrors of Nazi occupation in Belarus that feels necessary rather than gratuitous. They single out the lead performance and the way the film ages the young protagonist decades in two hours. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/come-see-greatest-antiwar-movie-ever-made-russian/) - **The Times** (Exceptional): The critic ranks it among the most overlooked war films, praising its hallucinatory horror and the mesmerising central performance of a boy joining the partisans in WWII Belarus. They highlight rapturous images amid the ethnic cleansing and biblical hardships. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/come-and-see-xbwhmgk3bqs) - **Time Out**, WH (90/100, inferred): The film enacts the hellish experience of war and its effects on a generation through the story of a young partisan witnessing atrocities in 1943 Soviet Belorussia. Klimov renders it as a disorienting mix of lyrical poeticism and expressionist nightmare. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/come-and-see) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kevin Thomas (70/100, inferred): Klimov sustains an epic odyssey through hallucinatory moods and sweeping expressiveness that largely succeeds in making the familiar subject fresh. The film overreaches in its conclusion with overly obvious makeup and a sentimental, false ending that strains credulity. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-31-ca-2435-story.html) - **The New York Times**, Walter Goodman (30/100, inferred): The film renders powerful material in its central village-burning sequence but relies on heavy-handed intrusions that undermine the impact. The young protagonist mainly serves as a vehicle for the director's display of powers rather than a coherent point of identification. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/06/movies/film-come-and-see-from-soviet.html) - **The Playlist**, Robert Daniels (A): The critic calls it a mesmerizing and legendary WWII masterpiece and a towering work in the pantheon of greatest war films. They single out its visceral expression of war’s emotional carnage told from a child’s perspective and its status as an underseen triumph that should be compulsory viewing. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/come-see-elem-klimov-war-nightmare-20200813/) - **Eye for Film**, Anton Bitel (90/100, inferred): The critic hails it as one of the finest films ever made on the subject of war, an intimate epic in which the promise of adolescence is perverted by war. They single out the repeated close-ups on the boy’s traumatised face and the extraordinary performance by Kravchenko. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/come-and-see-film-review-by-anton-bitel) - **/Film**, Joshua Meyer (90/100, inferred): The piece presents the film as one of the most intense and harrowing anti-war movies ever made, a visceral nightmare that effectively conveys the horrors of WWII through a young boy's experiences. It singles out the film's unrelenting bleakness and surreal elements as what make it essential, if difficult, viewing. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/986257/the-daily-stream-come-and-see-is-the-most-harrowing-anti-war-film-ever-made/) ## Details - **Director:** Elem Klimov - **Director:** Elem Klimov - **Screenplay:** Elem Klimov, Ales Adamovich - **Cinematography:** Alexey Rodionov - **Editor:** Valeriya Belova - **Music:** Oleg Yanchenko - **Production design:** Viktor Petrov - **Costume design:** Eleonora Semyonova - **Producer:** Stepan Tereschenko - **Cast:** Aleksei Kravchenko as Flyora Gayshun; Olga Mironova as Glasha; Liubomiras Laucevičius as Kosach; Vladas Bagdonas as Rubezh; Jüri Lumiste as Obersturmführer; Viktors Lorencs as Sturmbannführer; Kazimir Rabetsky as Village Headman; Yevgeni Tilicheyev as Gezhel - **Runtime:** 2h 22m - **Certificate (MPA):** NR - **Release (the US):** 6 December 1985 - **Genres:** Drama, War, Horror, History - **Budget:** $5 million - **Box office:** $21 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHaSQU-4wss ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-15.* Also available in: CA, GB, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - International Submission to the Academy Awards 1986: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Ascent* (1977), Fi1m 88: Another wartime ordeal that makes survival a frighteningly complicated moral question. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-ascent.md) - *Fires on the Plain* (1959): Starving soldiers and ruined landscapes, with little patience for military honour. - *The Night of the Shooting Stars* (1982), Fi1m 87: War remembered through childhood, with warmth that never makes the violence manageable. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-night-of-the-shooting-stars.md) - *The Thin Red Line* (1998), Fi1m 84: For the uneasy proximity of natural beauty, frightened men and organised killing. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-thin-red-line.md) - *Quo Vadis, Aida?* (2020), Fi1m 92: Civilian terror observed at close range, with bureaucracy doing its familiar damage. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/quo-vadis-aida.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/come-and-see