Films Ivan's Childhood

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Ivan's Childhood poster

Film · 1962

Ivan's Childhood

Original titleIvanovo detstvo

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky · starring Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov and Evgeniy Zharikov

  • 1 h 35 min
  • Drama · War
  • Russia
  • Released in the UK 19 May 2016
  • 8.1 AverageMovieNCo
  • 8.8 Users4 votes
  • 7.5 Critics2 reviews
Where to watch · from £3.49 Rate it

Synopsis

'Ivan's Childhood' is a poetic journey through the shards and shadows of one boys war-ravaged youth. Moving back and forth between the traumatic realities of World War II and serene moments of family life before the conflict began. When his parents are killed by the Nazi Army, Ivan escapes and the Red Army finds him and takes care of Ivan. He wants to take revenge and he accepts to do some missions against German army. He explores behind enemy lines and penetrates into Hitler's Germany for getting some information.

'Ivan's Childhood' is directed by Andrei Tarkovsky with his personal style. The Russian director won the Golden Lion in Venice Film Festival in 1962 with this film. The young Ivan is played by Nikolay Burlyaev.

Where to watch Ivan's Childhood

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Available now in the UK:

Availability checked on 8 November 2026.

The essentials

Runtime
95 min1 hour and 35 minutes
How long is Ivan's Childhood?
1 hour and 35 minutes (95 minutes).
When was Ivan's Childhood released in the UK?
It was released in the UK on 19 May 2016.
Who directed Ivan's Childhood?
Andrei Tarkovsky.
Who is in Ivan's Childhood?
It stars Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov, Evgeniy Zharikov and Andréi Konchalovsky.
Where can I watch Ivan's Childhood?
In the UK it is available to rent on Prime Video.
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Cast

Full cast (11)
Director
Andrei Tarkovsky
Writers
Vladimir Bogomolov, Mikhail Papava, Andrei Tarkovsky, Andréi Konchalovsky

Photos and posters

All 5 photos

Reviews

All 2 reviews
8.8 4 votes

What the critics say average 7.5 from 2 outlets

  • 8.0 New York TimesBosley Crowther Beauty, poetry and sadness are certainly lodged in its brief dramatic span, to be seized and embraced by anybody who will give a compassionate mind to it. Read
  • 7.0 Time Director Andrei Tarkovsky has mixed daring with poetry in making this film: he shows the Soviet hero as an individual troubled with the doubts and complexities of other humans. Read

Soundtrack

See the song
  1. Ne velyat Mashe

Trivia

  • The movie was based on a short story "Ivan" by Vladimir Bogomolov. Andrei Tarkovsky wrote in his book "Sculpting in Time" later that he did not find the book very good, but stories that were not well written were easier to adapt into films.

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