As a film after the thawing period of the Soviet Union, it can be seen that it already has strong modernist characteristics. The film depicts a tragic and beautiful story during World War II using the methods of scene scheduling, subjective shots, and the interweaving of dreams and reality.
Films often use mise-en-scène to expand the narrative space. At the beginning of the film, Ivan appears in the foreground, then comes out of the painting, the camera rises, he enters the painting and goes to the background; then on the grass, he appears in the background, comes out of the painting, then enters the painting and goes to the foreground; in the barracks, he appears in the foreground, Then out of the painting, and then into the painting to board the car at the background. This scheduling method greatly expands the depth of the narrative space, enriches the layers and information of a single shot, and implies Ivan's flexible and free state and personality.
The film uses a lot of subjective shots. The birch forest swaying in front of Masha in the woods and the trance in front of Ivan's nightmares fully express the emotional state of the characters.
The interweaving of dreams and reality is the most striking feature of the film. In the dream, the apple, the beach, the mother, and the sea are all bright and beautiful, but the reality is dark and depressing. In the performance of dreams, the director pays great attention to the use of "water", such as rainwater, well water, lake water, sea water, etc. Water often splashes, ripples, and glitters under the light, creating a dreamy feel. The transition between dream and reality is also very natural and smooth. At the beginning of the film, after Ivan falls asleep, water drips from the ceiling, and the camera pans upwards. As a result, the ceiling is the reflection of Ivan and his mother in the well water, which is very poetic, dreamy, and beautiful.
The scene of Ivan's death at the end of the film did not directly present the scene of Ivan's death, but only explained it with information from a German execution record book at the end. The last impression Ivan left on the audience was that of disappearing in a lake in a dark night, which was poetic, very delicate, and left the audience with endless aftertastes.
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