Come and See (no 35)

(USSR 1985 142m) DVD1/2

Aka. Idi i Smotri

Ode to Lily of the Valley

p/d  Elem Klimov  w  Ales Adamovich, Elem Klimov  book  Ales Adamovich  ph  Alexei Rodionov  ed  Valeriya Belova  m  Oleg Yanchenko  art  Viktor Petrov

Aleksei Kravchenko (Florya Gaishun, the boy), Oleg Mironova (Glasha, the girl), Lyubomiris Lautsiavitchus (Kosach), Vladas Bagdonas, Victor Lorentz,

Anyone who has seen the Kino DVD of this film will recall that the title menu is accompanied by the use of Mozart’s immortal “Requiem” (the ‘Lacrimosa’, if memory serves).  It isn’t actually heard until the fade-out and yet, despite waiting well over two hours to understand its use, in truth it takes only a few minutes of Klimov’s film to comprehend its suitability.  Mozart’s final musical masterpiece has provided backing to numerous films, from the obvious Amadeus to Elizabeth, but never had it been used more potently or more appropriately.  Just as Mozart’s piece is a deathly lament, so is Klimov’s film.  Not in any other film has war been shown so apocalyptically and so frighteningly accurately.  For my money you can take the pretensions Oliver Stone’s ‘Nam trilogy and Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan and Empire of the Sun (which also told of a boy damaged by war) and flush them down the loo for, in comparison, they are child’s play. 

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