Ivan's Childhood
1962 · Movie · Not Rated · 95 min · ★ 7.8 · 95% critics
During World War II, a 12-year-old Soviet orphan works as a scout behind enemy lines, using his small stature to gather information. Along the way, he forms bonds with sympathetic Soviet officers as he makes risky missions across a guarded river, confronting the crushing realities of front-line life.
Based on Ivan
Also known as My Name Is Ivan
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2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Original title
- Иваново детство
- Years
- 1962
- Release date
- 1962-05-09
- Language
- Russian
- Rated
- Not Rated
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Critic score
- 95/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.8/10 (836 votes)
About
You’ll likely like this if you enjoy haunting, poetic WWII dramas with a child’s perspective and shifting dreams and reality, and you don’t need nonstop battles; Not for you if you want a straightforward, gripping plot or prefer more action-focused war films like Forbidden Games or Come and See.
Pros: devastating anti-war tone; memorable atmosphere; strong youth performance | Cons: subtle, non-linear storytelling; divisive end choice; suspense not always gripping
Themes
- dreams
- spy
- world war ii
- swamp
- flashback
- black and white
- animals
- apple
- based on short story
- flare
- 1940s
- children in wartime
- +3 more
Awards & recognition
- Golden Lion · 1962
- International Submission to the Academy Awards · 1964 · nominated
Cast & crew
Nikolay Burlyaev
as Ivan
Valentin Zubkov
as Kholin
Yevgeni Zharikov
as Galtsev
Stepan Krylov
as Katasonov
Mykola Hrynko
as Gryaznov
Dmytro Milyutenko
as Old Man
Valentina Malyavina
as Masha
Irma Raush
as Ivan's Mother
Andrei Konchalovsky
as Soldier with Glasses
Ivan Savkin
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky