Nearly four decades after its release, Come and See, a Soviet anti-war masterpiece, has achieved an extraordinary milestone.
It is now officially the highest-rated narrative film of all time on Letterboxd, surpassing cinematic heavyweights like The Godfather and Parasite.
Based on Real Survivor Testimonies From Belarus
Directed by Elem Klimov and based on the 1971 novel Khatyn by Ales Adamovich, along with his later collection I Am from the Fiery Village, the film draws from real testimonies of those who lived through the Nazi occupation of Belarus.
The plot follows Flyora (played by Aleksei Kravchenko), a teenage boy who joins the Belarusian resistance and quickly finds himself in the middle of unimaginable horror.
Shot in chronological order, the film documents his descent from a wide-eyed teenager to a traumatized survivor whose face tells the story of war without saying a word.
Among the film’s most notorious moments is a 25-minute sequence that shows Flyora being captured by Nazi soldiers and forced to watch, with a gun to his head, as an entire village is burned alive inside a church.
Collider described the scene as “one of the most sickening depictions of wartime Hell ever shot”, while one user on X wrote that it was "25 minutes from hell".
The realism of the horrific scene was so intense that Kravchenko revealed he was hypnotized to endure the emotional toll, though he proved resistant to hypnosis, meaning he had to act through the trauma unaided.
The director was determined to capture the correct tone of despair, so he showed Kravchenko real footage of concentration camps to prepare for the role.
The young actor also underwent a grueling physical transformation, fasting and jogging for hours to appear malnourished for the role.
Critical Acclaim and Recognition
Despite being nearly 40 years old, Come and See continues to be a major cultural touchstone.
With a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and inclusion in Sight & Sound’s Directors’ Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, the film’s devastating portrayal of war has made it one of the most powerful anti-war statements ever made in cinema.
A Long Hiatus and Return to Acting
While the movie cemented Kravchenko’s place in cinematic history, it would be over a decade before he appeared in another film.
After the film's release, the actor took a long break from acting, not appearing in another film until 2000, when he starred in the Russian romantic drama The Christmas Miracle.
He continued acting in films and television, making at least one appearance every year since then, with his most recent project being Rowing for Gold (2025), a film about Soviet rower Yuriy Tyukalov.
In recognition of his contribution to Russian cinema, Kravchenko was awarded the title of Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in 2007 and later named People's Artist of Russia in 2020.
However, Kravchenko's career has not been without controversy as in 2023, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine added him to the list of individuals posing a threat to national security.
This followed his involvement in the 2021 propaganda film Solntsepyok, which depicted the war in Eastern Ukraine and portrayed PMC Wagner mercenaries in a positive light.
The film was shot in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia, and Kravchenko’s presence there violated Ukrainian law, leading to significant political backlash.