Andrei Tarkovsky's masterful first film won Grand Prizes at film festivals around the world. Twelve-year-old Ivan's childhood exists only in his head; in reality, it is cut short by the Second World War when, after his family is destroyed, he becomes an ace army scout. The boy is adopted by two officers, with whom he finds companionship and some warmth between assignments, but his main solace lies in his dream-memory world, through which he returns to a time of abandon. Tarkovsky moves from terrifying realism to lyrical impressionism, revealing his mastery at incorporating surrealist elements into his filmic universe. "The casting is near perfect - especially the performance of Kolya Burlyaev as Ivan. He succeeds beautifully in convincing us that he is both a clever and lovable child, who through circumstances is also an adult and a soldier. It is evident that the director, since he shows us practically nothing of the war itself, is primarily concerned with the boy's mental view of the war." --Calgary Film Society