The film's plot focuses on the German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II , and the events as witnessed by a young Belarusian teenager named Flyora, who joins a partisan unit , and thereafter depicts the Nazi atrocities and human suffering inflicted upon the populace. The film mixes hyper-realism with an underlying surrealism , and philosophical existentialism with poetical, psychological, political and apocalyptic themes.
It is the last and most recent film that Klimov directed before his death. Critical response to Come and See has since continued to rise more widespread acclaim in retrospective years; its realistic portrayal of the horrors of war and brutality in the film's third act was widely praised, alongside previously unknown Kravchenko's performance being universally lauded, which is highly regarded as one of the finest instances of child acting performance ever. In , Flyora and another Belarusian boy dig up an abandoned SVT rifle from a sand-filled trench to join the Soviet partisan forces.
They do so in defiance of their village elder, who warns them that this would arouse the suspicions of the occupying Germans. The boys' activities are noticed by an Fw reconnaissance aircraft, flying overhead. The next day, partisans arrive at Flyora's house to conscript him, against his mother's wishes.
Flyora becomes a low-rank militiaman who performs menial tasks. When the partisans move on, their commander Kosach orders Flyora to remain behind at the camp. Bitterly disappointed, Flyora walks into the forest weeping. He finds Glasha, an adolescent girl working as a partisan nurse. Glasha appears emotionally unstable, and mocks Flyora when he tries to act mature; she taunts that he isn't living, and expresses a want to love and have children. The camp is suddenly attacked by dive bombers and German paratroopers , partially deafening Flyora and forcing the duo to flee into the forest.
The two exhibit psychosis , first appearing catatonic and then suddenly playing with manic joy. Flyora and Glasha travel to his village, only to find his home deserted and covered in flies. Denying that his family is dead, Flyora believes they are hiding on a nearby island across a bog and runs off. Glasha follows, turning her head by chance and seeing a pile of executed villagers behind his house. The two become hysterical after wading through the bog, where Glasha screams at Flyora that his family is dead; Flyora pushes her into the water, then immediately tries to rescue her.
