Cinema
Ivan's Childhood
Иваново детство
Andrei Tarkovsky · 1962
Synopsis
Ivan, a twelve-year-old boy whose parents were killed by the Germans, crosses the front line at night and reaches a Soviet unit. Questioned by Lieutenant Galtsev, he turns out to be a scout in the service of Lieutenant Colonel Griaznov and Captain Kholin. The officers, who have grown attached to him, want to send him to a military school, far from the front; Ivan, who wants to avenge his family, demands to go back out on reconnaissance.
Context
The film adapts the story “Ivan” by Vladimir Bogomolov, published in 1957; the screenplay is by Bogomolov and Mikhail Papava. Nikolai Burlyaev plays Ivan, with Valentin Zubkov as the captain, Evgeny Zharikov as the lieutenant and Stepan Krylov as Corporal Katasonov. Produced by Mosfilm, the film was released in 1962 and received the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival the same year.
Who it is for
A war film of about an hour and a half, seen from a child's height, which opens its director's body of work.
Prizes and reception
Top prize of the Venice festival in 1962, according to the Encyclopædia Universalis.
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