Somewhat ironically titled, this Andrei Tarkovsky war drama is about the protagonist's lack of a real childhood; orphaned during World War II, he spends his days running errands for Soviet soldiers to avoid being sent to school, however, dreams and nightmares of his prewar life frequently haunt him. Nikolay Burlyaev is very effective in the lead role and the film is as sumptuously filmed as Tarkovsky's better known colour films. Right from the opening shot that magnificent pans up a tall tree, to spinning and angular shots as Ivan remembers what is to like to roam free, it is evident from early on that the film will be quite a visual ride - and indeed it is. Tarkovsky evens puts negative (inverted colours) stock to good use. Impressive as all this may be, 'Ivan's Childhood' is a bit of a bumpy ride. Valentina Malyavina is quite alluring as a character called Masha, however, all dramatic tension comes to a stand-still when the film randomly stops to concentrate on her walking in the woods for minutes on end. In fact, pretty much all the scenes without Burlyaev (give or take the final ending) feel very cut and dry. There are a lot of dialogue exchanges between the soldiers without Ivan in the room, which feels like a misstep since the film truly comes to life in both the moments when Ivan tries to act like a soldier himself and when Ivan remembers back to what life once was.
Review of Ivan's Childhood
