Summary

Electa 2022-03-25 09:01:14

(1) SOME DETAILS
1. Death hint: The close-up of Ivan's face at the opening (7:59) is identical to the photo of Ivan in the closing file.
2. Three kinds of dwellings: the dwelling of the mad man (the erected chimney); the dwelling of Martha (the erected birch); the dwelling of Ivan (the erected cross).
3. Fall scene: Captain's fall (in the trenches, talking about Martha); Herring's fall (by the river, talking about Ivan). Appears when the character lacks reasons and lacks confidence.
4. Cobwebs: Cobwebs in the first dream; Cobweb images of ruins; Cobwebs found by Martha in the birch forest.
5. The double perspective in the well (18:18): It can be seen as either the "bottom of the well→outside the well" perspective or the perspective of "outside the well→bottom of the well"; the split of identity.
6. Time and water: Dreamland - Ivan drinking water - well water - rainwater - sea water - life and cycle - time; reality - river water - stillness and death

(2) Tragic
1, not just Ivan's death.
2. One interpretation is that Ivan cannot distinguish between reality and dreams, but the problem is not that Ivan cannot distinguish, but the failure of the healing function of dreams: reality invades dreams (gunshots, whispers of German soldiers).
3. Ivan's Split: Child's Habits/Adult's Passion. Ivan must die, or in other words, Ivan cannot grow - the belief of revenge traps Ivan in the "past-reality" cage. War is Ivan's absolute need and the only way for him to recognize and evaluate others. A "post-war", future life was unimaginable for Ivan. Different/irreparable trauma from other characters.

To be honest, I think the casting of the tower, except for the strangeness of the male protagonist of "Solaris", is praised by everyone else! Captain and Martha's long lashes are so heartwarming!

View more about Ivan's Childhood reviews

Extended Reading
  • Lee 2022-04-23 07:03:27

    Just like Picasso before Cubism, Lao Tower's first official step included all his creative features in a style different from the future. The first time I watched it was in 2001, not long after I graduated from elementary school. I have deep sympathy and sympathy for Ivan, who is the same age as me - even if his age, his situation, and his fate are completely different from mine. At the time I didn't know anything about Tarkovsky and poetic realism at all, and just saw it as a good TV show. Looking at it later, I understood the imagery of fire and the sound of water droplets, understood the meaning of shadow and light, and deepened the most outstanding dream image at 1:05. The last words on the wall lingered in my head, and the inhuman nature of war was so easily brought out. I have always advocated careful use of subjective lenses, because there are too few good ones, and the old tower is undoubtedly the most outstanding one. The last Berlin paragraph shocked me a lot at the time, it seemed to be the first time I had seen such a clear and real corpse.

  • Noemy 2022-03-17 09:01:05

    Although there is no strong stylization of the film after the director, and the later movies are a bit unappreciable, this one is also easy to understand and sincere. The poetic style and artistic conception have already taken shape, and the ingenuity of the composition and the use of scenery have been quite elegant. Under the undercurrent of the war, Ivan is a tragedy of the times. Against the backdrop of the ruined walls and cruel indifference of the war, the beauty of Tongmeng is extremely precious, and after waking up from the dream, it is deep despair. The whole film is interspersed with several dreams of Ivan. The two dreams at the beginning and the end are echoed back and forth. They start with a beautiful and end with a beautiful. These are also the places where I am most moved. I get caressed by my mother and play with my sister. It was what a child was supposed to do, but it was broken by the involvement of a war. The young man was already sad, sensitive and helpless. The two deepest dreams, the scattered fruits and the horses on the beach, chased and played with my sister on the beach. He cried for his nostalgia and dependence on his mother! Why!

Ivan's Childhood quotes

  • Ivan's Mother: If a well is really deep, you can see a star down there even in the middle of a sunny day.

  • Ivan: Is he a Fritz too?

    Galtsev: He's either a German doctor or writer.

    Ivan: They have no writers. I saw them burning books in a square. They poured gasoline on them and set them on fire. There was soot in the air for a week.

    Galtsev: That writer lived 400 years ago.

    Ivan: Well, then maybe.