Come and See
Updated: 12/10/2025, 3:39:35 PM Wikipedia source
Come and See is a 1985 Soviet epic historical anti-war tragedy film directed by Elem Klimov and starring Aleksei Kravchenko and Olga Mironova. Its screenplay, written by Klimov and Ales Adamovich, is based on the 1971 novel Khatyn (Russian: Хаты́нь) and the 1977 collection of survivor testimonies I Am from the Fiery Village (Я из огненной деревни, Ya iz ognennoy derevni), of which Adamovich was a co-author. Klimov had to fight eight years of censorship from the Soviet authorities before he was allowed to produce the film in its entirety. The film's plot focuses on the German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II, and the events as witnessed by a young Belarusian teenager named Flyora, who joins a partisan unit, and thereafter depicts the Nazi atrocities and human suffering inflicted upon the populace. The film mixes hyper-realism with an underlying surrealism, and philosophical existentialism with poetical, psychological, political and apocalyptic themes. The film received positive reviews during its initial release and received the FIPRESCI prize at the 14th Moscow International Film Festival. It is the last film that Klimov directed before his death. Come and See has received widespread acclaim in more recent years. Often regarded as the darkest film ever made, its portrayal of the horror, bloody brutality, and psychological damage of the Khatyn massacre and the broader Nazi terror of German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II has been widely praised by critics, and Kravchenko's performance has been lauded as one of the best instances of child acting in a motion picture. It has since come to be considered one of the greatest films of all time, particularly in the anti-war film genre. In 2022, it was ranked the 41st greatest film of all time in the Sight & Sound directors' poll and 104th in their critics' poll.
Infobox
Directed by
Elem Klimov
Screenplay by
mw- Ales Adamovich Elem Klimov
Based on
Khatyn [ru] &I Am from the Fiery Village [ru]by Ales Adamovich[a]
Starring
Aleksei Kravchenko Olga Mironova
Cinematography
Aleksei Rodionov
Edited by
Valeriya Belova
Music by
Oleg Yanchenko
Productioncompanies
Belarusfilm Mosfilm
Distributed by
Sovexportfilm
Release date
9 July 1985 (1985-07-09) (Moscow)
Running time
142 minutes
Country
Soviet Union
Languages
Belarusian Russian German
Box office
$21 million
Tables
· Reception › Accolades
14th Moscow International Film Festival
14th Moscow International Film Festival
Award
14th Moscow International Film Festival
Date of ceremony
12 July 1985
Category
Golden Prize
Recipient(s)
Elem Klimov
Result
Won
FIPRESCI prize
FIPRESCI prize
Award
FIPRESCI prize
Date of ceremony
Elem Klimov
Category
Won
74th Venice International Film Festival
74th Venice International Film Festival
Award
74th Venice International Film Festival
Date of ceremony
9 September 2017
Category
Venice Classics Award for Best Restored Film
Recipient(s)
Won
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
| 14th Moscow International Film Festival | 12 July 1985 | Golden Prize | Elem Klimov | Won | |
| FIPRESCI prize | Elem Klimov | Won | |||
| 74th Venice International Film Festival | 9 September 2017 | Venice Classics Award for Best Restored Film | Won | ||
References
- The film itself does not credit any source material.
- Russian: Иди и смотри, romanized: Idi i smotri; Belarusian: Ідзі і глядзі, romanized: Idzi i hliadzi.
- Come and Seehttps://web.archive.org/web/20170620061220/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/come-and-see-1970-0
- IDI I SMOTRIhttps://web.archive.org/web/20160211222424/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b72b62c27
- Come and Seehttps://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0091251
- Come and See (Idi i smotri)https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1036052_come_and_see
- "Read and See: Ales Adamovich and Literature out of Fire"https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/7006-read-and-see-ales-adamovich-and-literature-out-of-fire
- War and Filmhttps://books.google.com/books?id=jIDgWXZpBYkC&q=%222+war+as+tragedy%22&pg=PA103
- Я из огненной деревни...https://books.google.com/books?id=_JY8AAAAIAAJ
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- Иди и смотриhttp://www.aif.ru/culture/21267
- Russian War Films. On the Cinema Front, 1914–2005https://archive.org/details/russianwarfilmso0000youn
- https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/come-and-see#:~:text=This%201985%20Soviet%20anti%2Dwar,viewer%20is%20forchttps://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/come-and-see#:~:text=This%201985%20Soviet%20anti%2Dwar,viewer%20is%20forced%20to%20endure
- https://www.filmlinc.org/films/come-and-see/https://www.filmlinc.org/films/come-and-see/
- Sight & Soundhttps://www.bfi.org.uk/film/7400501f-e65d-5e1c-9ba7-847a1a680978/come-and-see
- The Calvert Journalhttps://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/6415/come-and-see-elem-klimov-war-film-bastards-star-brest-fortress
- "Elem Klimov's Boundary-Pushing Satires"https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5257-elem-klimov-s-boundary-pushing-satires
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- A Testimony of Jesus Christ - Volume 1. A Commentary on the Book of Revelationhttps://books.google.com/books?id=K7vqJyRAdj4C
- Come and Seehttps://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/oct/28/top-10-war-movies
- The same biblical quote is at the center of the film Horsemen (2009).
- Russia Beyondhttps://www.rbth.com/arts/332350-come-and-see-soviet-movie
- Come and Seehttps://books.google.com/books?id=94RSDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Come+and+See+%5BRussian:+Idi+i+smotri%5D+(1985)%22&pg=PA61
- The New York Timeshttps://web.archive.org/web/20181123121906/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/28/movies/film-they-prized-social-not-socialist-reality.html
- Janus Filmshttps://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/janus_promo_packages/359-/ComeAndSee_press-notes_r1_original.pdf
- Elem Klimov abouthttps://www.google.com/search?tbm=vid&q=%22Elem+Klimov+about+Come+and+see%22%22solidaritet2010%22+2010
- Come and Seehttp://bulvar.com.ua/gazeta/archive/s456-29_930/330.html
- Moscow Believes in Tears. Russians and Their Movieshttps://books.google.com/books?id=S3u3b_U-c78C
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- warisboring.comhttps://warisboring.com/come-and-see-turns-the-eastern-front-into-a-hallucinatory-hellscape/
- Soviet Film Music. An Historical Surveyhttps://books.google.com/books?id=KxwJAQAAMAAJ
- New York Presshttp://www.nypress.com/news/whitegirl-julia-stiles-in-save-the-last-dance-BVNP1020010131301319999
- Histories of the Aftermath. The Legacies of the Second World War in Europehttps://books.google.com/books?id=Wc570pHou7EC
- The Musical Comedy Films of Grigorii Aleksandrov. Laughing Mattershttps://books.google.com/books?id=cDk8d2UMRLwC
- RogerEbert.comhttp://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-come-and-see-1985
- Кинопоиск [Film search]https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/42571/dates/
- Come and Seehttps://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Come-and-See#tab=summary
- "Biennale Cinema 2017 | Official Awards of the 74th Venice Film Festival"https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/official-awards-74th-venice-film-festival
- lumiere.nlhttps://lumiere.nl/en/movies/kom-en-zie-engels-ondertiteld
- blu-ray.comhttps://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=22056
- criterionchannel.comhttps://www.criterionchannel.com/come-and-see
- Janus Films [@janusfilms]https://x.com/janusfilms/status/1207363678066098177
- "COME AND SEE - NEW RESTORATION TRAILER"https://vimeo.com/379352025
- theplaylist.nethttps://theplaylist.net/come-see-2k-restoration-trailer-20191218
- Come and Seehttps://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1303675393/
- "WANDA - Janus Films"https://web.archive.org/web/20200313231220/http://www.janusfilms.com/comeandsee
- "Click to see the full poster for our new restoration of COME AND SEE! Will be on sale soon @Criterion"https://x.com/janusfilms/status/1210304215454830592
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/06/movies/film-come-and-see-from-soviet.html
- Come and Seehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/comeandseenrkempley_a0ca58.htm
- Come and Seehttps://archive.org/details/Sight_and_Sound_1987_04_BFI_GB/page/n65/mode/2up
- "The 58th Academy Awards (1986) Nominees and Winners"http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986
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- Entertainment Weeklyhttps://web.archive.org/web/20210715222059/https://ew.com/article/2001/11/02/come-and-see/
- The Village Voicehttps://web.archive.org/web/20220312112255/https://www.villagevoice.com/2001/01/30/high-lonesome/
- The Village Voicehttps://web.archive.org/web/20121022091434/http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-08-18/voice-choices/come-and-see/
- The A.V. Clubhttp://www.avclub.com/review/come-and-see-17863
- The Word
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jul/24/worst-best-films-ever-made
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- Empirehttps://web.archive.org/web/20120310130224/http://www.empireonline.com/500/86.asp
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- Empirehttps://web.archive.org/web/20121019214341/http://www.empireonline.com/features/become-a-genre-expert-war/p9
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- Cinepaternity. Fathers and Sons in Soviet and Post-Soviet Filmhttps://books.google.com/books?id=9clS9PG0KSwC
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/nov/04/guardianobituaries.russia