Ivan's Childhood

" War is not for Kids" Yet in every war thousands of innocent kids drop dead like flies and nobody cares. Kids while growing up they either hate it or worship whatever the fuck is going around them. Just like Ivan who is a russian kid and all he has seen is war and vengeance. Ivan despite losing his parents, home and everything because of the war he still craves for it, he wants to fight for it in the battlefield. His trauma has converted into hatred and vengeance. i really like the beginning and ending of the movie. But in the middle the movie loses its motive and totally forgets ivan exists, it goes on exploring different things like 30 minutes. I really wish Tarkovsky would explore ivan's journey more, it would have been a great character study of a child who is a victim of the war. But Tarkovsky really wanted to provide a visual experience, and he delivered it. Especially the final scenes are just a treat to watch. Some of the most beautiful and terrifying war scenes i have seen in black and white. But the story and character development wise it was a slight disappointment for me.