Ivan's Childhood

Original title: Ivanovo detstvo

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During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

41K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins total

Photos143

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Top cast13

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Nikolay Burlyaev

Ivan Bondarev
(as Kolya Burlyaev)

Valentin Zubkov

Leonid Kholin
(as V. Zubkov)

Evgeniy Zharikov

Galtsev
(as Ye. Zharikov)

Stepan Krylov

Katasonov
(as S. Krylov)

Nikolay Grinko

Gryaznov
(as N. Grinko)

Dmitri Milyutenko

Old Man
(as D. Milyutenko)

Valentina Malyavina

Masha
(as V. Malyavina)

Irma Tarkovskaya

Ivan's Mother
(as I. Tarkovskaya)

Andrey Konchalovskiy

Soldier with glasses
(as A. Konchalovskiy)

Ivan Savkin

Vladimir Marenkov

Vera Miturich

Girl

Nikolay Smorchkov

Starshina
(uncredited)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Tarkosvky shows real footage of occupied Berlin, including the charred corpse of Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Minister of propaganda, and the bodies of his six children murdered by their parents in Berlin on 1 May 1945.

Goofs
When Kholin and Galtsev take Ivan across the river in the boat, a tree into the water falls near them. It is supposed to be because of the military action taking place, but it can be seen that the base of the tree has been sawn across in a straight line.

Quotes
Ivan's Mother: If a well is really deep, you can see a star down there even in the middle of a sunny day.

Connections
Edited into Moskovskaya elegiya (1990)

Soundtracks
Ne velyat Mashe
[Song played on the gramophone. English translation: "Masha is not allowed beyond the river".]

User reviews99

Review

Featured review

Probably the best Russian World War II drama you will ever see.

(***** out of *****)

Ivan's Childhood is Tarkovsky's debut feature film about a 12 year old boy who volunteers to fight in the front lines against the German invasion because his family where murdered by Nazis. His size and height make him the perfect spy for the Russians as he slides his way across muck and swamp to bring back vital information about the German offence that no other man can achieve. At the same time his commanding officers object to this boy being used as a tool of war but have no control over the matter because of Ivan's convictions to bring down those that killed his parents.

Shot in beautiful monochrome the camera never ceases to capture nature, religion, dreams and love - all of which are major elements in any Tarkovsky film. This motion picture is one of the most stunning independent movies you will ever see.

Sometimes Ivan cries like the child he is but this is not because of the burden of war but because he can not do what he wants most - to avenge the death of his family. Other times he is like a General in the making - standing up to his commanders, spitting orders back at them, making other soldiers look pale in comparison and walking into the fray without any fear attached. The dichotomy of his fractured personality is evident the most when he is alone. One moment he is dreaming of his mother, the next he is stalking the ghost of a Nazi murderer in the room where he sleeps (which is one of the most disturbing scenes in this film).

The final sequence in the ruins of Berlin fully brings home the impact of the film's premise. This is a story about Ivan's Childhood and that is exactly what you get. Heart wrenching from the first frame to the last and never equalled. To think this was all made in 1962! Shocking cinema at its very best.