Aleksei Kravchenko gives Come and See a frightened boy whose reactions are almost unbearable to watch. Later roles favour his physical toughness, but it is the openness of that performance we most value.
Fi1m perspective
In Come and See (1985), Aleksei Kravchenko's face is open with fear. He plays the adolescent Flyora Gayshun with such specificity that the familiar phrase ‘lost innocence’ soon becomes inadequate. We were horrified by the close-ups because he makes us see a boy being overwhelmed, unable to make sense of what he is witnessing. There is no reassuring sense that understanding his expression means understanding his experience. It is exceptional work, and the strongest reason for our interest in him.
It was his screen debut, at fourteen, and his later casting would favour a much tougher physical presence. His screen work resumed in the late 1990s, with military men and figures of authority becoming recurring parts. Sergeant Anikanov in The Star (2002) and Captain Bystrov in 9th Company (2005) belong to that pattern. His physical force suits such roles, though repeated casting of this kind can limit what a part asks of an actor. There is a risk of accepting the soldier without looking much further.
The difficulty for director Elem Klimov is knowing when to leave that early performance alone. Klimov and co-writer Ales Adamovich put an adolescent at the centre of the story, and Kravchenko keeps giving us someone more particular than a representative victim. Yet Klimov sometimes asks the close-ups to register another degree of horror after the actor has already made the feeling clear. At those points, we become too aware of the director working on the boy's face. We wanted him to ease off; the performance had earned that trust.
His stage work includes Ivan Karamazov and Macbeth, parts that ask for more than a forbidding physical presence. That is worth remembering when considering how often his screen roles return him to military life. We would welcome more opportunities to see the openness that makes Flyora so particular, without expecting him to repeat that performance. Begin with Come and See, and do not mistake our recommendation for a promise of a comfortable evening.
Biography
Aleksei Yevgenyevich Kravchenko (Russian: Алексей Евгеньевич Кравченко) is a Russian actor. He was born on 10 October 1969 in Moscow. He made his screen debut at the age of 14 as Flyora Gayshun in Elem Klimov's Come and See (1985).
After serving in the Navy, Kravchenko trained at the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute, graduating in 1995. He resumed acting regularly from the late 1990s. His credits include The Star (2002), Brigada (2002), 9th Company (2005) and Lev Yashin. The Dream Goalkeeper (2019). He received the State Prize of the Russian Federation in 2003 and was named Merited Artist of Russia in 2007 and People's Artist of Russia in 2020.
Kravchenko joined the troupe of the Moscow Art Theatre in 2007. He is the founder and leader of the music group Guarana.
