One “masterpiece” war movie has been hailed for being even better than the iconic Saving Private Ryan. The harrowing Soviet war film was praised by reviewers for capturing the brutal reality of Nazi occupation during World War II.
Set in 1943 occupied Belarus which suffered immense devastation during the war, the 1985 film follows a young boy who decides to join the Soviet resistance after finding an old rifle. However, his journey quickly descends into horror as he witnesses heartless violence and sees his region being destroyed. Despite a lack of big-budget special effects, Come and See was revered for its portrayal of the psychological toll of war, as viewers see a young, optimistic boy change into a traumatised man.
On IMDB it received an impressive score of 8.3 from more than 115,000 reviews and was hailed a “masterpiece” by viewers.
One review said: “This is the most historically accurate war movie I have ever seen and would highly recommend it to any war/history enthusiast.”
A second praised its ability to capture the reality of war, writing: “The best true-to-life war movie I have ever seen, and possibly the best movie I have ever seen.”
While Come and See, which was directed by Elem Klimov, was not known for having a particularly high production cost, according to IMDB it grossed nearly $21 million worldwide.
Many viewers compared it to the legendary Saving Private Ryan, although some believed it was better than the iconic war film in certain aspects.
One reviewer said: “Come And See is a difficult, violent and surprisingly poetic movie, compared to which even classics like Saving Private Ryan (Spielberg payed a homage to this movie on SPR’s beginning) or The Thin Red Line seems just artificial. This is the real thing!”
Another wrote it was “probably the most true to life war movie ever, only Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List can come close”.