Kino presents Come and See

Kino on Video has restored the elements of the controversial 1985 WWII film Come and See for a DVD release this October. Directed by Russian filmmaker Elem Klimov, “Come and See” is one of the few films to present the war from the view of the Russians, and one of very few war films to present the protagonists in a less than heroic stature.

“Come and See” is the story of young Florya (Alexei Kravchenko), a teenage boy who joins a group of partisans to fight the Nazi troops invading Byelorussia in World War II. Beginning with youthful enthusiasm, Florya quickly witnesses unspeakable horrors far from his wide-eyed expectations. He becomes a hardened, cracked spirit while still maintaining a fragment of hope. When young Florya willingly joins a group of Partisans fighting the Nazis in Byelorussia, USSR, he little suspects that he is plunging through the looking glass. Separated from his comrades during a paratroop attack and struck deaf by German artillery, Florya wanders a battle-scorched Russian purgatory of prehistoric forests and man-made slaughter. Florya’s journey takes him and us through a gallery of exquisitely poetic imagery and brutal human atrocity.

The upcoming two-disc set will contain the film remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 in Russian, English, and French, and will be subtitled in no less than 13 different languages. In an interesting step to further break the language barrier, even the menu screens will be available with different language setups. The discs will also contain interviews with the cast and crew, archive materials of “Partisans in Belarus” and “Nazis’ Brutalities”, two photo galleries of production stills and cast and crew filmographies.

“Come and See” will be available for $29.95 on October 23rd.

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