I just watched the first half of иди и смотри, in English, “Come and See.” I had to stop. It was just too much. It’s not like the first 25 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, it is random, crazy, evil violence committed on peasants who are not really supporting the partisans.
This rarely happens to me, but on minute I smiled, the next I wanted to wretch, and the next I got misty eyed. I’m attemping to watch it in the original Russian but it is hard because it is in essence peasant Russian and their accents are pretty damned hard to unpack at times so sometimes I have to rewind and turn the subtitles back on.
I was told by a dear Russian friend–who lives in Russia–that Come and See captures the wanton brutality of war in its essentially random nature.
I can not say yet as I reccoment this film from 1987–that was damn near shitcanned by Soviet censors and I can understand why. It is harsh, beautiful, tender, cruel and arbitrary in equal measures. If you have the stomach, go ahead but be warned.
More when I finish.
If you have seen it, please share.
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Nat Wilson Turner
Watched it in English about 10 years ago. It’s overwhelming and incredible. I did a podcast on it and Bloodlands before I realized Tim Snyder was a propagandist for more war on Russia. I’ll see if I can find that online and add a link.
Nat Wilson Turner
Here it is https://www.youtube.com/live/sAeLih3ddk4?si=46GjwCKm_gXv5XMl
j
Finally watched it last summer. Great stuff. I still sometimes think of the way it slowly builds, picks up steam, and culminates in utter madness. Haunting stuff. Must see.
Sean Paul Kelley
So basically both of you are saying, man up and finish watching it, yes?
Sean Paul Kelley
@Nat: did you see Born a Champion with Sean Patrick Flannery and Dennis Quaid? And what did you think if so?
Sean Paul Kelley
@Nat: one last thing: Eugene is absolutely correct about WWI and WWII being the same war with a 20 year intermission and up-arm.
Nat Wilson Turner
RE: “Born a Champion with Sean Patrick Flannery and Dennis Quaid”
I have not. But I will. And yes finish Come and See. The most powerful and horrifying thing is at the end.
Sadly in the pre-censorship days there were a ton of videos were Euro fash kids had remixed the charge of the Dirlewanger battalion from that movie with various metal and industrial soundtracks to great effect. All that is now lost.
Forecasting Intelligence
Brillant movie and captures the reality of what the war was like in that part of Europe the best.
Horriying.
Stephen Johnson
Oddly enough, I watched the film in Moscow, during my studies there. Yes, the dialogue is hard to follow, but it works surprisingly well even when you lose track of the words. It’s a brilliant, wonderful and dreadful masterpiece, maybe the best war film ever, with the possible exception of Sergei Bondarchuk’s Wazr and Peace.
Sean Paul Kelley
@Nat and @Stephen Johnson: I’m pretty fucking crushed righ now. Finished watching it about two hours ago. You know, I thought watching “Saving Private Ryan” opening night at a movie theatre with a WWII vet who was in the second wave at Normandy was rough.
Fuck me. This movie was heartbreaking in good and horrifying ways. I’m glad y’all encouraged me to finish watching. But I just have no words.