Nikolai Burlyayev, Nikolai Grinko, Nikolay Burlyaev
12-year old Ivan works as a spy at the eastern front. The small Ivan can cross the German lines unnoticed to collect information. Three Soviet officers try to take care of this boy-child.
DVD Release Date: July 24, 2007
Stats: 245 reviews
Tarkovsky's near masterpiece of lost innocence. The story of a young Russian boy who, having lost his family, serves as a spy behind the German front. Everything in this film works, from the minimalist landscapes to the fantastic dream sequences. Not a single frame of film is ...( read more)
Tarkovsky's first film is easily his most accessible. Shot in stark black and white, this powerful tale of revenge and patriotism is an excellent starting place for any one interested in the great directors work.
Tarkovsky's debut film already hints at the greatness of his later films. It is a war story mostly from the perspective of the young boy Ivan who works as a spy for the Russian army to avenge the death of his family. The Soviet officers who works with him wants to place him in ...( read more)
In terms of the display of technical expertise, this should be compulsory viewing - the cinematography is breathtaking. The story is remarkably cliché-free, given the subsequent potential for parody/ homage. The occasionally unsettling scene structure befits the tone of the fil...( read more)
I've been meaning to catch up with the work of Andrei Tarkovsky for the longest time. Up until now the only movie of his I had seen was Andrei Rublev, which was excellent. Ivan's Childhood was his first feature film, as good a place to start as any. This film would make an intere...( read more)
Tarkovsky's first major film is a wonderful piece of work, each take beautifully crafted, leading to a most poignant, devastating ending.
Some solid creative flares, beautiful photography, etc., but the core of the piece seems rather flimsy to me. If this film has any ultimate point to get across, its what the evil Germans did to poor Russia and what the brave Russians did to fight back. And yes, the Germans abso...( read more)
I revised it after reading what Tarkovsky had written in his book Sculpture in Time about it. It was a great start hinting his vision clearly but not completely. I liked the output of the collabaration between Tarkovsky and Vadim Yusov as a cinematographer, it had begun beautiful...( read more)
This is one of those foreign films that for either the loss in translation or its own pursuit of art over story that keeps me from connecting to it. The film looks good, I just wasn't interested in it.
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