War and Peace; The Conflict Between A Horrifying Reality And An Optimistic Fiction

Were you to browse a ‘Top War Films’ list, you may expect to find Saving Private Ryan, Fury, Platoon, 1917, War Horse, Dunkirk, The Hurt Locker and American Sniper to name a few. Likewise, were you to look for a recommendation form a “Scariest Horror Films’ list, you will probably find The Exorcist, The Witch, Hereditary, Halloween, IT, The Blair Witch Project. Again, this is just scraping the surface. There is a film, though, that could appear on either list: Elem Kilmov’s 1985 ‘war’ film Come and See (CAS).

Written by Ales Adamovich and Elem Kilmov, the very title is ominous and sounds very much like the title of a terrifying horror. In fact, many have described it as one of the most spine-chilling films they have ever watched - and rightly so. It is certainly one of the most unnerving and truly alarming films that I have ever watched. However, this film is not about menacing clowns with red balloons or five men in a tank forming a brotherhood during the struggles of war.

CAS follows Flyora, a young man in Belarus desperate to join the Soviet resistance as they take on the German army in World War Two. From history lessons, we already know that this film is certainly going to be bleak, to say the least. The Soviet resistance was ill-equipped, to put it mildly, and the numbers of massacres in villages in Soviet-occupied nations were almost unfathomable. While this film is loosely based on the story of a survivor from such a village, the film is not focused on the ‘true story’ element that many other war films (which perhaps should actually be called horror films) focus on, but is instead concerned with portraying events that were very much a reality during the Second World War.

So what is it that makes CAS so terrifying? Well, firstly, using Flyora as the protagonist. He is a young man; a child really. We watch an eager, and desperate child do all he can to join the resistance. He clearly has an idealised and boyish notion of war and the army. His delight that he is accepted is met with fury and blood-curdling screams from his mother. This is a departure from the heartfelt goodbyes from tearful mothers and stoic fathers saluting their sons as the train pulls away from the station; a common war film trope. The intense reaction of Flyora’s mother is the first indication that his dreams of war are slowing fading into its dark realities.

Much like Sam Mendes’s 1917, this film follows one perspective: Flyora’s. Following one story during a war certainly seems like a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of it all, but it makes it so much more terrifying. Instead of watching big battles or listening to complex strategies, we watch one person’s struggles to live in a hostile environment. CAS has little physical action to distract us, so we focus on the very real, ‘small’ horrors of war. I use this phrase not to minimise the events but to suggest all of the small personal battles and struggles that take place during a war. War as a concept is terrifying, but this film deconstructs and breaks down ‘war’, showing that every day in every single war is an effort and a struggle to survive one more day for both soldiers and civilians. The film interjects with real facts about the war and the local destruction it caused. This is what makes war so petrifying; one day you are in your village living life as best as you can, the next you’re huddled into a building to be burned alive; knowing your very neighbour could have helped to create this horror to save their own skin.

The performance by Aleksey Kravchenko as Flyora, as well as almost every performance, is not only remarkable but really adds to the horror. Often the camera is extremely tight on the actors’ faces and expression. The characters often stare into the lens, looking at us for uncomfortable amounts of time, making us feel afraid and unnerved. Their expressions are mostly ones of intense fear and horror. Sometimes we watch their faces change from a seemingly normal expression to one of terror or menace, all the while staring at the viewer.

While CAS is about war, it has all the tropes of a horror film. Firstly, its imagery, that of a young girl with blood running down her legs or two young people trying to wade through a dark, thick swamp. Also, its use of eerie music and its complete silences. Its stalking cinematography and its dark lighting are horror staples. The use of make-up is a pervasive aspect of horror films. Here, it is used to transform the boyish face of Flyora into an aged and broken version of his younger self. Even though it has only been a few days at this point, the effects of war can be clearly seen on his once-impish face.

The very moral questions that the film raises are chilling. What is the punishment for war? Who, if anyone, could have stopped this from happening? Or - worse - who let this happen? If one kills, does that not make them just as bad as their enemy? These questions culminate in the film’s ending, as Flyora looks at a portrait depicting a triumphant Hitler, leaving the viewer to ponder such scary and complex moral questions. As Flyora rejoins the troops at the film’s end, they all continue to move through the forest; their journey is not over. This is a truly terrifying ending. Surely there has been enough horror? But no, there is much more to be done, and this is far from over. As I watched this final scene, I thought what kind of world will await this young boy and who will he become once this horror finally ends.

When I started writing this post, I had one question in mind: should all war films not be horror films? I have already mentioned a handful of highly regarded war films. Saving Private Ryan is a particular stand out as it is so often praised for its realism and, yes, I admit I felt as though I was in the middle of a battlefield while watching it. Still, I believe this film and ones like it have a certain detachment, making them less horrifying. Films such as these focus on the more ‘attractive’ elements of war: the brotherhood, the bravery and the camaraderie. Also, there is a great focus on action, with big elaborate battles and emotion as we are upset when our favourite characters are killed, but these intense scenes are not scary.

CAS has an extreme realism, showing all of the inhumane acts and atrocities committed during war and its effect on the men who fought in it. I can understand that the darkness of war may need some lightness in its filmic portrayal. It needs the brotherhood and the glory, but I also think that, on some level, it needs to terrify us all and to do that, it needs to be real. Stories that are overly romanticised or glamorised take away from the realities and horrors of war. Many popular war films claim to be based on true stories (mostly extremely loosely based), but what’s real and true is death, disease, trauma and unspeakable acts of violence and hatred.

Possibly the most chilling aspect of CAS is its realistic approach to Nazi ideology. Towards the film’s end, a Nazi troop explains the beliefs of Nazis and their hope for successful completion of their goals. This is what should scare us. We should be afraid and take note. Many filmmakers, including Michael Haneke, who I have already spoken about, are concerned with how the Nazis rose to power and, more importantly, who let them. This is something a viewer should think of when watching a war film. While Flyora and the other troops may be able to punish these Nazis, is it a victory? Are they any better than Nazis? Even the victories end in death and violence. There is no celebration.

The question I started off with was: should all war films not be considered horror films? I don’t think I have a definitive answer, but I do think that, on some level, all war films should scare us. We should be reminded of the past atrocities and be afraid of them, even if we think they will never happen again.