4. Come and See (1985)
If you haven't yet had the chance to take in Elem Klimov's seminal war movie
Come and See, it's a difficult film to recommend to those who haven't stumbled upon it naturally: the movie is so haunting and emotionally-driven that such a recommendation could be interpreted as something of a punishment. That said,
Come and See remains one of the most important war movies ever made, although I cannot imagine anybody embracing a second viewing without a few reservations.
Come and See focuses on a young child in Belarus as he fights to defend his village from the Nazis during World War II. There is, arguably, no other movie out there which outlines the gradual loss of innocence to such a harrowing extent as this one - our protagonist's face is used as a constant window into his mindset, and man does it hurt. One particularly famous series of shots has etched itself into my mind to this day, and I haven't seen
Come and See for close to ten years. There's good reason why I'm still hesitant to revisit it.