Ivan's Childhood Sparknotes

Ivan’s Childhood directed by Andrei Tarkovsky is a Russian Film released in 1962, which details one boy’s journey as a spy for the Russian military. The film uses Ivan’s time at a base near the front lines of the war to show how war was destroying Russian towns and the people who live their lives there. The proximate to the front line also allows the director to show how brutal the war was for the soldiers who served in it. Even though the film focuses mainly on the struggles of World War Two for the people and soldiers of Russia, it also dives into the struggle of women to serve in the military, a struggle that still exists today. Tarkovsky used Ivan’s Childhood as a medium to show the world the struggles of war, which is refreshing when compared

Joseph Stalin attempted keep Russia out of war because the nation was still recovering from the civil war in which Lenin came to power, and the attempt to industrialize the country was still in its early stages (Lecture 13). Despite the countries best efforts German invaded on June 22, 1941. The war resulted in years of intense combat along what became known as the “eastern front” with 10.6 million causalities in the Russian Military and an addition 10 million civilians killed (Erlikman). These simple statistics do not accurately state the conditions the people had to live through. Due to blockades and advancing troops there were food shortages and many citizens trapped in cities died of starvation (Lecture 13). Russia would prove victorious over Nazi German and halt their eastward expansion across

The Russian army allowed women to serve in the military and during World War Two it is estimated that 800,000 women served in the Russian military (Skaida). Masha struggles with unwanted sexual advances from Kholin. The scene in which Masha is in the woods with Kholin illustrates this perfectly. In the scene, Masha is talking to Kholin with Kholin making advances that Masha is pretty obviously ignoring. As the scene continues Kholin forces Masha to kiss her. The film does an excellent job showing the struggles of women in military so well, and it makes sense that this topic would be broached in a film about the Russian military during World War Two because it is the first time women were allowed to be in open combat of a large military. It is remarkable that the film shows this struggle way back in 1962 when it is an issue the world’s militaries are still dealing with today. Ivan’s Childhood does an excellent job showing the real human costs of war and not just the destruction and battle scenes that normal war movies use. The films portrayal of the hardships the Russian people and military went through shows how war is more than just physical destruction, but also emotional. The struggle of Masha as a women serving in a male dominated military was nearly clairvoyant and could just as easily be set in movie about the war in Iraq. Overall, the film gave me a greater appreciation