bako101

Tarkovsky's monochrome delight deals with the tragedy of youth lost in war. Its main theme is of childhood innocence lost (becoming accessible to Ivan only in dreams) however the young officers are also vastly aged by the conflict they find themselves in.

The backdrop is nature itself - woodpeckers and cuckoos emulate (or become replaced by) the sounds of machine gun fire and the hoots of the falling flares. It pervades most scenes: the seemingly endless channel of water between the opposing sides, the huge birch trees stretching out as high and as far as the eye can see while also providing bunkers for the Russian forces. But nature's power is continually challenged by the great war going on around it and is ultimately defiled and devastated (like Ivan's, and the other young officers' innocence) - turning from green grasslands to mud and ashen trees.

Reminded me of 'The Thin Red Line' in its use of the natural world war tries to ignore. The shots are honestly stunning. The leads are all fantastic. Enjoy the desolation.

This is a grainy, sun-drenched, hippy farce. An examination of whether married relationships can withstand/be improved by free love - it seems almost a parody of itself, showing how a bunch of rich LA types have jumped on the peace and love bandwagon and are riding it out of existence. Like all revolutions though, it had become (main)streamlined by movies like this, and as such was about to burn out. It's 1969 and the end of the line for the hippy ideal. So this movie accurately depicts where the movement had gotten to (but is this intentional?). The film itself is a dreamy, bizarre, occasionally amusing, often boring, sex farce.