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First off let me say I love Tarkovsky. Phew, now that I’ve said that I can say, I was extremely disappointed with this film. As the first feature film from the auteur, you can tell he was still finding his niche. In most of his films, we rely on the ebb and flow of emotions to tell a story, rather than the conventional linear plot progression. Not in this case. This is full of dialogue, and emotions are drawn out for us in layman’s terms.

While there is still the dream trademark from Tarkovsky films present, that doesn’t make this a great film. Really, the shots, and gritty realism of WWII actions, make it what it is. The constantly moving camera delivers. The fact that, the action can carry on for minutes at a time, and the camera keeps rolling, and moving, is amazing. Deep focus is also a great factor in this film. Many times, we see everything with perfect clairvoyance, giving us a crisp, clear, beautiful shot.

Another impressive camera technique, is what I call the “Low-to-High Angle Handheld Tracking Shot”. I’ve only seen it occur within this film, so I might as well name it. In this shot we start with a low angle shot, usually tilted, to give us the perception of Ivan’s ego. High and mighty, untouchable if you will. Then, while Ivan moves to another location on screen, the shot continues, and switches to a high angle shot. This give the perception of insignificance, or of the actuality of his power. With this shot Tarkovsky has successfully juxtaposed Ivan’s ego with reality.

-Chase
sunday with the giants

Tarkovsky´s first feature film (of a small length, just 93 minutes) feels like a mystical continuation of the first short: The Steamroller and the Violin (in reality it felt more like a prequel, ivan´s could very well be a lost brother of the violinist mother or any of the member of his platoon could be the steamroller… and this movie is in blakk and white taking it´s story place years before that of the steamroller and the violin and most important it´s a product of the collaboration of the same three people: A. Konchalosky (a very good director on his own) Vadim yusov, a master of light and images and the great Tarkovsky (a man Bergman called “ The Greatest Director”).
Fabrice “allons Revautt” on his book “Le lumiere au Cinema” talks about this movie (alongside “the mirror” and “the stalker”) as the purest example of the Baroque use of light; as a way of expressing multiple meanings (or expressing the absence of a true meaning) and the way this movie express itself by the use of shadows, contrast, shapes, rain (again as reflected light) and sound, no just music, Tarkosvky engineered a working mechanism of sound: thunders, dripping water, the horrible, but attractive sonic assault of war, and a weird and hunting score (by v ovchinnikov) so the audiovisual presentation of this story is of the most excellent quality, beautiful and evocative, realistic of his depiction of the ravages of war, and of a war. Maybe the most necessary war of this century, a war that almost destroyed the semblance of civilization in Europe, but a world that cost so much to the individuals and families that fought it…and was fighting over…
The movie is based on a Soviet Novel, but as a prelude (and a continuation) of Tarkovsky´s work, we can be sure is his movie.
The Criterion Collection presentation of this movie, is a DVD that make justice to this film.
World War II,h as received so much attention in the art world, right as I write this (the boreal summer of 2010) in the Anglophone world the subject of the second war is seen as a unsafe (from an economic point of view) and rather risky gamble, but nevertheless the fight between sophisticated barbarism and civilization appears even more important now that our grandfathers (who fought and suffered) the war as Childs, died, and lies and mystifications (propaganda for really evil purposes) will abound more and more than in the previous years.

(Friday / March 19, 2010 / 3:45pm)

I’m glad that “Ivan’s Childhood” was my first Tarkovsky experience. I was so touched by this film that I compassionately sympathized for the protagonist. The missing part of Ivan’s life was the warmheartedness of the people around him, though he openly accepted some affection in his life, it still wasn’t enough for him to live it. Tarkovsky’s masterful direction examines a great deal of emotions so uncontrolled with violent situations that resulted in clear anguish and pure grief within a child.

For singular first films by any director this project sets high standards Tarkovsky would build on in his later works. The continuity is almost unprecedented and inspired Ingmar Bergman to say he was standing on the threshold of something he only dreamed was possible cinematically after his initial viewing. All Tarkovsky earlier works all suffered some degree of suppression by censors thus denying his fellow countrymen access to his artistic vision until much later in his life. Through the eyes of a child the brutality of WW II is cruel from any side. The toll on a youthful psyche is unmeasurable. Only someone who actually lived through these events could actually tell this tale so realistic and honesty. These are the first strokes of a true visual master.

“When I discovered the first films of Tarkovsky, it was a miracle. I suddenly found myself before a door to which I had never had the key. A room which I had always wished to penetrate and wherein he felt perfectly at ease. Someone was able to express what I had always wished to say without knowing how. For me Tarkovsky is the greatest filmmaker.” – Ingmar Bergman

There you have it folks. One of the greatest filmmakers of all time is showering accolades upon Tarkovsky, and for good reason. Ivan’s Childhood is his first feature film and is, in my opinion, one hell of a start. Set during WWII, a young boy named Ivan performs reconnaissance missions for the Russian front. We also meet a few captains and generals along the way, each dealing with their own battles. Amazing how Tarkovsky pulls all this off without showing a single scene of combat.

Like Tarkovsky’s other films, you always know that you’re watching his films just by marveling at the swooping camerawork. Cranes and jibs are dollying back and forth, tilting up and down and all around. The black and white photography is startling and looks absolutely beautiful. One image that pops into my mind is when Ivan is standing outside, and the frame of a dilapidated old shed (which can also be seen on the cover) frames his entire body. All the jagged edges of dead wood juxtaposed with a boy who is mostly dead on the inside speaks volumes. There are so many shots that I liked in here, especially the wooded area with the skinny white trees. Pure eye candy.

Ivan tends to dream a lot, which could lead the viewer to confuse what is truth and what is fiction. The dream sequences are absolutely wonderful, and the opening of the movie truly shines when the title card comes onscreen after his dream. It’s the only way this twelve-year old boy can truly escape the horrors of war and the hardships that are slowly wearing down his psychology.

This film also caught the eye of Krystof Kieslowski, another director I also admire. Bergman was right: I have seen cinema before, but never in the way that Tarkovsky shows us with Ivan’s Childhood.