Andrei Tarkovsky’s Debut Film “Ivan’s Childhood” Is As Good As A Debut Can Get — Directing Wise
The Criterion Collection is a distribution company that specializes in “important” classic and contemporary films. Through Hulu, many of these films are made available to stream. Once a week, I like to bring a Criterion movie to deepen one’s understanding of filmmaking and film history. This week’s movie: “Ivan’s Childhood” (1962).
A year ago, while reading about Ingmar Bergman, the great Swedish director, I came across a quote where Bergman named his view on the greatest film director.
“Tarkovsky is for me the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream.”
Innocently, I thought, Tarkovsky? Who is that?
Thanks to a quick Google search, I learned that Bergman was referring to Andrei Tarkovsky, a Russian film director. The films that were credited to him I did not recognize. I made a mental note of the name, only to find out some of his films were available on Hulu — thanks to the Criterion Collection. Interested on why Bergman thought Tarkovsky was the greatest, I started from the beginning.
Ivan’s Childhood is Tarkovsky’s debut film. Based on a short story called Ivan, the screenplay fell to Tarkovsky two years after film school in the Soviet Union.
The film tells the tale of an orphan boy named Ivan, who is all alone on the Eastern Front during World War II. Captured by the Russians, Ivan keenly tells the officers in charge to call “Number 51 at Headquarters”, indicating that he is not with the enemy. Throughout the movie there are flashbacks of Ivan’s life, and we learn more about the boy with each flashback. Through dialogue with the characters, the audience learns Ivan’s family is dead and other characterization details. Ivan insists on fighting on the front line, vowing revenge, but the Russian superior officers will not allow that to happen. A struggle between this Russian orphan and the Russian army ensues. (There is also this subplot with one of the army-men developing a relationship with an army nurse).
The highest compliment I can give Ivan’s Childhood is the handling of the flashbacks. Usually, flashbacks are messy ways for storytelling. They are confusing and jarring to the film’s main plot. (Obviously exceptions exists, like this movie, but, in general, lots of flashback scenes are a warning sign for me). Here, the flashbacks are welcome because of the information they provide and the way Tarkovsky films them. The flashbacks happen subtly, but are easily distinguishable.
However, Tarkovsky is interested in a child’s emotional state after becoming an orphan during war, the plot is thin. Coming from a short story, I should not be surprised. There are points in this film (this romance plot) where the plot and film feel thin. There is little emotional attachment to these characters and, in the first half of this film, nothing is really going on. Toward the end, where missions and life and death situations are more focused on, the film grows into a film that has some meat to its bones.
No, I am not spoiling the ending.
The biggest takeaway from Ivan’s Childhood is its direction. Just after one film of Tarkovsky, I can see why Bergman called him the best. The camera moved and was placed in unique angles that made the film feel like it was being handled by a seasoned director. My favorite scene is known as “the kiss” and features the romance storyline. Sure this is probably the weakest plot point in Ivan’s Childhood, but the scene is the best directed of the entire film. For me, the camera looking up on the couple kissing over the trench is iconic. Instead of me going on and on explain why this scene is gorgeously filmed, watch it for yourself:
Where the plot falls short, the directing really gives some weight to the film. Ivan’s Childhood is no where near the greatest, but, even with its faults, the film is fascinating to watch. Watching World War II enfold through the eyes of an orphaned Russian boy is an interesting concept. Tarkovsky did his best to make Ivan’s world a reality.
And most of the time, it worked.
