Film: Ivan's Childhood
Genre: War/Drama
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Year: 1962
Starring: Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov, & Yevgeni Zharikov
Out of all the things that shaped the world in the Twentieth century, the effects of World War II seems to have been the biggest, and most lasting. The aftermath left the world with two superpowers, placed the boundaries of most of the world's countries, and kick started a boom in technological development. So, it shouldn't be so much of a wonder as to why films about stories from the war intrigue us, and why they've remained a popular genre since the end of the war.
For reasons not entirely clear to myself, I've seemed to have had a particular interest in Russian things, whether it be the language, culture, people, and so on. But Russian cinema seems to be a bit hard to come by, even when I attended film school they rarely showed up. I even enrolled in a Russian language through film class, and we only saw a handful of films. So, I'm always out looking for more cinema from geographically, largest country on Earth.
Ivan's Childhood is the story of an orphan boy who becomes a spy on the Russian front during Hitler's invasion eastward into the Soviet Union. While there is no real antagonist we see Ivan, or his fellow soldier's face, we are privy to a slice of their lives, and just the general malaise of war not on the front lines. Also, we see the effects the situation has had on Ivan, and his dreams taking him back to the times before the war took his mother. The Soviet soldiers present seem to be cut off from the rest of the world, staying in an isolated bunker, or in a lonely forest. Perhaps as a way of expressing the emptiness of the vast country following World War II, and the actions taken by Stalin following it.
As there is no real linear plot, the film decides to take on a more character based approach to storytelling. Because of this, the film tends to drag a bit at times, even having long segments where Ivan is absent, and we follow his fellow Soviets, learning about Ivan through their experiences with him. The title of the film is something of a political statement, as Ivan's childhood seems to be a thing of the past, only being present in his dreams. This isn't really a film for the casual viewer, most of it contains complex symbolism, and the fact that it was made with a Soviet mindset distances it from modern audiences even more. Though, that was likely the point, expressing the underlying emotions going through the minds of the Soviet people, perhaps unable to express themselves in a more direct area.Memorable Moments:
• The film includes several dream sequences; in one the camera makes a jarring zoom onto a character's face, reminiscent of the camera moves used by Sam Raimi in Evil Dead 2.
• There is a scene after Ivan escapes from military custody and finds an old man living in his bombed out house, waiting for his dead wife to return. Shows the effects the German invasion has taken on normal citizens quite well.
