Soviet drama from acclaimed Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, based on the short story, 'Ivan', by Vladimir Bogomolov. A 12-year-old boy, Ivan (Nikolai Burlyayev), is orphaned after his family are killed by the Nazis, and joins a partisan group who use his diminutive stature and agility for intelligence purposes. Worried about his safety, they send him to a quieter area, but the boy, hellbent on revenge for his parents' murder, insists on being given more dangerous assignments, with tragic consequences.