Ivan’s Childhood12A

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky | Soviet Union | 1962 | 1h 35m | Russian w/ English subtitles | Starring Nikolai Burlyayev, Nikolai Grinko, Valentin Zubkov

Determined to avenge his family’s death at the hands of the Nazis, 12-year-old Ivan joins a Russian partisan regiment as a spy on the eastern front. Andrei Tarkovsky’s Venice Golden Lion-winning debut feature is an eerie journey through the shadows of one boy’s war-ravaged youth and one of the most unforgettable depictions of the impact of war on children.

Reviews

‘Tarkovsky pays full attention to the squalor and pity of war but never loses his sense of poetry.’
★★★★★
Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent

‘Audacious, coldly lucid postwar Russian classic…Unmissable’
★★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Ivan’s Childhood between January 9, 2022 and January 12, 2022.

Join our mailing list and we'll make sure you always know what's on and when.

What else is on?

Today (Friday 24th January)

20:45

Better Man 15
2h 15m
Pop icon Robbie Williams has experienced a fame-filled roller coaster like no other. Inventive and unexpectedly poignant retelling of his life exploring the highs and lows of stardom – with Robbie portrayed, intriguingly, as a chimpanzee.

Book here


Tomorrow (Saturday 25th January)

14:00

Nickel Boys 12A
2h 20m
In 1960s America, two young Black men form a friendship while in a corrupt reform school. Director RaMell Ross adapts Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel as an immersive exploration of America’s buried history.

Book here

17:00

We Live in Time 15
1h 47m
Almut and Tobias meet in an unexpected encounter that forever alters their lives. But a challenging truth emerges that threatens to upend everything they’ve built. Uniquely structured rom-com starring Oscar nominees Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield.

Book here

19:30

Byrne's Night Double Feature PG
1h 29m + 1h 28m
It's Byrne’s Night! Join us for a celebration of musician and artist David Byrne with a screening of his directorial debut True Stories back-to-back with Jonathan Demme’s iconic Talking Heads concert-doc Stop Making Sense.

Book here

19:30

True Stories PG
1h 29m
Directed and hosted by a cowboy-hatted David Byrne, the frontman of Talking Heads, True Stories draws inspiration from tabloid headlines to create a postmodern tribute to the extraordinary nature of everyday American life.

Book here

21:15

Stop Making Sense PG
1h 28m
Big songs. Even bigger suit. Filmmaker Jonathan Demme captures the intoxicating experience of New York art-rockers Talking Heads performing live at the peak of their powers in 1983.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!