20 Movies That Could've Been Horror Movies
4. Come & See
"War is hell" is pretty much the most common thematic touchstone in the annals of war cinema, but Elem Klimov's 1985 film Come and See uniquely captures how warfare perverts and destroys the sanctity of youth.
Klimov's dramatisation of the German occupation of Belarus during World War II centres around a Belarussian teenager, Flyora (Aleksei Kravchenko), who witnesses the Nazi atrocities inflicted upon his country.
Klimov offers up a near-literal descent into Hell as Flyora observes an increasingly upsetting series of events, ensuring that by film's end he's a shell-shocked, visibly aged shadow of his fresh-faced former self.
The stark visuals, evocative sound design, and amazing makeup work superbly complement Kravchenko's astounding performance to demonstrate that, above all else, the biggest casualty of war is the promise of tomorrow's youth.
Again, many war films have shown the human cost of conflict, but perhaps none have done it in such a heightened-yet-gritty way. Truly, nobody could blame you for never wanting to revisit it.