Come and See

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Come and See

Released Feb 6, 1987

2h 22m

Drama

War

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

59 Reviews

96%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

The invasion of a village in Byelorussia by German forces sends young Florya (Aleksey Kravchenko) into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha (Olga Mironova), who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Florya finds his family and fellow peasants massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.

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Critics Consensus

As effectively anti-war as movies can be, Come and See is a harrowing odyssey through the worst that humanity is capable of, directed with bravura intensity by Elem Klimov.

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Mark Le Fanu

Sight & Sound

The movie is terrible and pitiable. Klimov manages, as I say, to convey the authentic relentlessness of nightmare.

Mar 15, 2023

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David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

The movie is a succession of brutally sincere "art" assaults, jammed together like the poorly articulated cars of an old freight train.

Mar 14, 2023

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

This is filmmaking of enormous power and feeling even if the film's length mitigates against it.

Mar 14, 2023

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Julian Singleton

Cinapse

It was a punishing experience watching Come and See, but that does not mean it’s an unforgiving one. It is a film I may not ever watch again, but it is one I’m ultimately grateful for and one I doubt I will ever forget.

Jul 12, 2025

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Lisa Laman

Culturess

Come and See is a nightmare. It’s a rare film, along with select company like Lost Highway, unnervingly accurate in mimicking the powerlessness and ceaseless torment of the worst nighttime experiences.

Jun 16, 2025

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Tom Cassidy

Common Sense Media

This 1985 Soviet anti-war drama is one of the best movies ever made.

Apr 17, 2024

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Stephen C

Wonderful war in 2 hours and 22 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Belarusian and English audio versions with English subtitles!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $70,800.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/04/25

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James J

It’s not an easy watch, but it’s not supposed to be. A brutally important film that shows the darkest, most vile side of humanity. Words can’t do it justice

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/18/25

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Audience Member

Yea sure "difficult to watch" they said online because of the horrific depictions of war they said. Really it's difficult to watch because it's so boring and weird. Actors don't really seem to be talking to eachother and lines seem disconnected from each other. The actions of the main protagonists seem as illogical too. Your regular weird art film

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/10/25

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Audience Member

This is an overrated war drama that forces you to feel misery. The fact that the movie is 2 hours and 22 minutes does not make it longer than a lot of great films but it just does not have a plot to explore. No dialogue, the plot is just "survival", some decisions don't make sense at all. Basically, the whole movie built to the final act which is the Germans committing war crimes. Great cinematography though and semi-descent acting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/10/25

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Joanna M

This is a v-e-r-y long movie portrays two hours of misery.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/07/25

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Todd B

A complex opera of horror and violence, staged with a sense of a series of psychological extremes that take the mise en scene into the nether regions of terror. One of the reviewers here, ", Jacob B." writes that it's a shame that this was the directors only film... which is an unfortunate piece of completely erroneous info.. Elem Kkimov had a pretty well fleshed out, impressive career, with a body of work that's almost universally well regarded. COME AND SEE was his *last* film.. perhaps that got tangled up in translation? Anyhow--i don't view the film as a 5 star masterpiece, sometimes the German soldiers are rendered with a silly pantomime of villainy (a mistake often made IMHO in a high portion of wwII melodramas... the Germans are portrayed as well nigh brain damaged mountebanks.... streamers of spit dangling from their chins the only thing missing) but it's definitely a tour de force of brutal filmmaking, well communicating the steady diet of violence that constituted the daily bread of those subject to the war on the Eastern Front. . . ie WW2's Operation Barbarossa.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/07/25

Full Review

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Elem Klimov

Director

Aleksey Kravchenko

Florya Gaishun

Olga Mironova

Glasha

Liubomiras Laucevicius

Kosach

Vladas Bagdonas

Rubezh

Evgeny Tilicheev

Gezhel

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Synopsis

The invasion of a village in Byelorussia by German forces sends young Florya (Aleksey Kravchenko) into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha (Olga Mironova), who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Florya finds his family and fellow peasants massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.

Director: Elem Klimov
Screenwriter: Ales Adamovich, Elem Klimov
Distributor: International Film Exchange
Production Co: Mosfilm, Belarusfilm
Genre: Drama, War, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Belarusian
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 6, 1987, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Feb 2, 2001
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 28, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.8K
Runtime: 2h 22m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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