Come And See15

Directed by Elem Klimov | Soviet Union | 1985 | 2h 20m | Russian w/ English subtitles | Starring Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas, Jüri Lumiste

When German forces invade a village in Byelorussia, a young boy defies his family’s wishes and flees into the forest to join the exhausted Resistance fighters. Armed with a discarded rifle, he is thrust into the brutal reality of the Soviet Union’s fight against the Nazis, witnessing unimaginable horrors along the way. Elem Klimov’s harrowing masterpiece is one of the most shocking portrayals of World War II – a visceral, unflinching depiction of war’s dehumanising terror and perhaps the most powerful antiwar film ever made.

Both screenings feature an introduction by film critic Anton Bitel.

Reviews

‘A relentless masterpiece, and a brilliant study of the cause and effect nature of brutality.’
★★★★★
Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine

‘By telling the story from a child’s perspective, Klimov gives the horrors of war a new kind of immediacy. Not one born from stern men turned tragically hollow, but from a pure spirit prematurely drained of their innocence.’
★★★★★
Robert Daniels, The Playlist

Anton Bitel is an Oxford-based freelance film critic, specialising in horror. He programmes for the London Korean Film Festival. Much of his work can be found at ProjectedFigures.com.

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We showed Come And See between June 1, 2025 and June 4, 2025.

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!