t-viktor212 I read the plot synopsis, and thought - this will be a good Tarkovskij WWII movie! - remembering Andrei Rublev's Tartars attack scene.Then I watched it, and realised that I saw a movie about war without seeing war. There's a lot of the post-war destruction, that was very well shot as well, but no war action at all, if we don't consider the opening and near-the-ending sneaking around. The movie focuses of course on a child soldier, that is angry at Germans whom supposedly destroyed his family, and how he grows up, though his fate is tragic. This movie enlights on an aspect we don't really see of war in war movies, from a perspective and in a setting we don't really see often, and does it outstandingly.Yet I've put the lowest rating I gave to a Tarkovskij film. That's because it doesn't have that sort of thing other reviewers call "Poetry" Other Tarkovskij films have: even if I could enjoy this better than Nostalghia or Sacrifice, those film had much more messages to tell. But, still, I consider "outstanding" all the films I rate over 8.

George Roots (GeorgeRoots) "Ivan's Childhood" feels like a propaganda film. Based on the short story "Ivan", from 1957 by Vladimir Bogomolov. It was actually one of the few Soviet Films of the 1960's that looked at the human cost of War, rather than glorify it. Saying that, the determined Ivan and his mannerisms still convince me of this "propaganda" notion, and unfortunately it's kind of impossible not to see how blatant it feels and would be for any other country to tackle similar material. I greatly respect that the film itself actually has a sense of urgency and conflict about it, but of course the highlights would be how clever the atmosphere is depicted in such small things, be it a crashed aeroplane or a vivid message on the bunker wall (Or more famously wooden beams of a destroyed house looking as they've torn into the picture frame).Told in a non linear fashion with a few flashbacks, 12 year old Ivan Bondarev (A stunning performance by the young Nikolai Burlyayev) drifts between memories and reality as he races across War-torn landscapes and murky swamps to report to Russian soldiers. In a subplot many of these young soldiers find themselves in moments of self-gratification and unrequited love, and it is also revealed that Ivan has a burning desire to exact revenge on the German's after many personal loses.Tarkovsky's peculiar way of shooting water and natural surroundings starts here (With thanks to his regular Cinematographer Vadim Yusov), and it's as impressive here as it will be again and again. There is also a great deal of restraint when it comes to music that really helps in showing how empty the forests are around our protagonist. Whereas the original scripts ending drew criticism for a more uplifting scenario, I applaud that the films ending did not draw away from the cold realities of war, or the loss of more innocent times that will definitely stay in your mind for a long, long time to come.Final Verdict: "Ivan's Childhood", has received much praise from master film-makers. Whereas I feel the quality dips a little in the subplot, and lacks more of the deeper themes Tarkovsky is particularly renowned for. It certainly has enough of an impact that ranks as one of the best from this avant-garde director. 8/10.

Andres Salama Andrei Tarkovksy's first feature film (excluding his shorts), about a boy named Ivan (Nikolai Burlyayev) working behind enemy lines as a military spy during World War II after being made an orphan by the Germans, is his most conventional film, though that hardly makes the film a conventional war movie. It includes a non linear narrative, dream sequences, documentary footage of the battle of Berlin, and many poetic images, mostly of Russian nature or of the pre war Ivan playing with his now dead mother (the remarkable black and white cinematography was by Vadim Yusov). The movie also includes good secondary characters, including the nurse Masha (Valentina Malyavina, who looks a bit like Tatiana Samoilova in The Cranes are Flying). The movie best scene has an officer who has pursued Masha romantically kissing her in a birch forest while holding her over a deep trench.

TheLittleSongbird And not just as a feature film debut, but Ivan's Childhood is a truly great film in its own right, and perhaps the most accessible of Tarkovsky's films(being his shortest and briskest). Tarkovsky is not at his absolute best here in the sense that his style was still settling and he went on to even better things(Andrei Rublev gets my vote as the greatest Soviet film ever made). This may sound like a knock but it isn't, even when Tarkovsky is not at his finest he is much better than most other directors when not at their best and Ivan's Childhood is still beautifully directed, up there with one of the better feature film directorial debuts.Tarkovsky's films are among the most visually beautiful I've ever seen and Ivan's Childhood is not an exception. The cinematography from Vadim Yusov is gorgeous and evokes chills, there is a dream-like quality to it but also a hard-edged realism. The use of landscapes is wonderfully Expressionistic, making the real-life sequences even more hard-hitting. The music score is haunting and the film is written in a thought-provoking way that wrenches the gut and breaks the heart. It isn't a Tarkovsky film without memorable scenes and images and Ivan's Childhood has those certainly, the dream sequences make the film(i.e. Ivan and his sister on the apple cart in the rain) but standing out too are the magical birch forest scene, the emotionally harrowing scene in the dark house and especially one of the most heart-breakingly powerful endings ever. What's remarkable is that while the story sounds simple, there are several characteristic Tarkovsky themes for so early on his career and when it comes to mood Ivan's Childhood works amazingly.Furthermore the story of Ivan's Childhood is incredibly touching, the childhood scenes are the epitome of innocence in a heartfelt, sometimes entertaining and charming way and in complete contrast(without feeling like two different films) the effect of the war and combat is both grotesque and poetic. The characters are interesting and vibrantly portrayed, although Masha is a little one-note for my tastes, Ivan is a compellingly real character who is easy to identify with from the get go. The acting is very good, outstanding in fact in the case of Nikolai(Kolya) Burlylaev who gives one of the best child performances I've ever seen on film. Overall, for a directorial/feature film debut Ivan's Childhood is incredible and as an overall film it's near-masterpiece quality. 9/10 Bethany Cox