Idi i smotri (1985)

Director:

Elem Klimov

Writers:

Ales Adamovich (screenplay)
Ales Adamovich (stories)

Release Date:

17 October 1985 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

A boy is unwillingly thrust into the atrocities of war in WWII Byelorussia, fighting for a hopelessly...

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Atrocity | Byelorussia | German Soldier | Airplane

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Aleksei Kravchenko	...	Florya Gaishun (as A. Kravchenko)
Olga Mironova	...	Glasha (as O. Mironova)
Liubomiras Lauciavicius	...	Kosach (as L. Lautsyavichius)
Vladas Bagdonas		(as V. Bagdonas)
Jüri Lumiste
Viktor Lorents		(as V. Lorents)
Kazimir Rabetsky		(as K. Rabetsky)
Yevgeni Tilicheyev		(as Ye. Tilicheyev)
Aleksandr Berda		(as A. Berda)
G. Velts
V. Vasilyev
Igor Gnevashev		(as I. Gnevashev)
Vasili Domrachyov		(as V. Domrachyov)
G. Yelkin
Ye. Kryzhanovsky

Also Known As:

Come and See (UK) (USA)
Иди и смотри (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Go and See

Runtime:

142 min | Argentina:146 min | Germany:146 min | USA:140 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Belarusian | Russian | German

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:15 | France:U | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16

Company:

Mosfilm

Trivia:

The director planned to have Aleksei Kravchenko hypnotized by a psychotherapist during the most dreadful and violent scenes so that they wouldn't affect his young mind. However Kravchenko turned out not to be susceptible to hypnosis and had to pretend all the way.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Several Germans can be see wielding MP or STG 44's which were not in service until summer 1944 (this film is set in 1943).

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Die Walküre

Unbelievable

The best true-to-life war movie I have ever seen, and possibly the best movie I have ever seen. My eyes were opened when I saw this for the first time a few days ago. It made me realise what I miss 99% of the time when watching movies. So few affect me like this one did.

No special effects of note, no big budget, no set-pieces of note, no heroes, no redemption. I feel quite sure the director has really captured what war 'feels' like - unlike Spielberg and Coppola's depictions of war, this director lived through WW2 and the horrific siege of Stalingrad, as well as spending many months researching the massacres in Belarus, one of which he depicts in this film (this from the DVD extras, well worth watching).

The direction, cinematography, soundtrack and AMAZING acting by a first-time untrained actor in the main role are faultless, in my humble opinion.

I found this film depressing and emotionally draining, but cannot wait to watch it again.