More than 40 years on from its release, one war film continues to be hailed by fans.

Come and See is a 1985 Soviet epic historical anti-war tragedy film directed by Elem Klimov. It stars Aleksei Kravchenko and Olga Mironova, and its screenplay, written by Klimov and Ales Adamovich, is based on the 1971 novel Khatyn and the 1977 collection of survivor testimonies I Am from the Fiery Village, of which Adamovich was a co-author. Klimov fought fight eight years of censorship from the Soviet authorities before he was allowed to produce the film in its full form.

The film’s synopsis reads: “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.”

Come and See has received widespread acclaim in more recent years, and is often regarded as one of the darkest film ever made, due to its portrayal of the horror, bloody brutality, and psychological damage of the Khatyn massacre and the broader Nazi terror of German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II. It has been widely praised by critics, and Kravchenko’s performance has been lauded as one of the best performances by a child in a motion picture. It has since come to be considered one of the greatest films of all time, particularly in the anti-war film genre, ranking 41st greatest film of all time in the Sight & Sound directors’ poll and 104th in their critics’ poll, in 2022.

The film has amassed an excellent score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics’ consensus reading: “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.”

One fan on Rotten Tomatoes wrote: “Elem Klimov’s brutal masterpiece is definitely the most devastating, disturbing, terrifying and personal one of my favourite war films of all time. It almost feels like you’re watching a horror movie. Showing the true, cruel reality of war from a civilian perspective. Which is witnessed on a young mind, during these atrocities committed in Eastern Europe.”

Another said it was “one of the best war films ever made”.

“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,” added a third.

Come and See is available on Apple TV.