Andrei Tarkovsky directs this Soviet drama based on the short story Ivan by Vladimir Bogomolov. During the Second World War, 12-year-old Ivan (Nikolai Burlyaev) is orphaned after his family are killed by the Nazis. He later joins a partisan group who use his diminutive stature and agility to gather intelligence. Worried about his safety, his commanders take Ivan away from the front line but the boy, hell-bent on getting revenge for his parents murder, insists on being given more dangerous assignments, with tragic consequences.
