Intro.
You know how some films you aren't really interested in until you hear them referenced in another film? That's how it was for me with Doctor Zhivago - I hadn't really heard a lot about it or had a desire to see it until I watched the modern romantic comedy Must Love Dogs (2005). In that film, John Cusack's character is obsessed with Doctor Zhivago. He says that he wants a love like that - a sweeping, epic love that is so powerful that "even after you're dead, it still hurts." I couldn't resist a line like that, so when Doctor Zhivago aired on TCM recently, I took the opportunity to watch one of the great epics of Hollywood as well as #7 on the AFI's list of America's Greatest Love Stories.Overview
While it's a bit difficult to summarize a movie that runs for three and a half hours, I'll try my best. Basically the film focuses on the lives of Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif) and Lara (Julie Christie). From the beginning it seems that these two people were destined to meet - orphaned Yuri goes to live with his parents' friends and their daughter Tonya. He grows up, becomes a famous young poet and then a doctor. Lara grows up in a dressmaker's shop with her mother, and winds up falling prey to her mother's lecherous boyfriend Komarovsky, who rapes her. They first cross paths when Lara's mother attempts suicide and Zhivago comes to her aide. Then after she is raped, Lara comes to a big high-class society party and shoots Komarovsky just as Yuri and Tonya announce their engagement. Well, Yuri and Tonya marry, and Lara marries her boyfriend, the idealist Pasha. When WWI breaks out, Pasha enlists, and when he goes missing, Lara volunteers as a nurse to look for him. She winds up serving in a country hospital with Zhivago, and they find a growing fondness for each other. They call it off for the sake of their families, but it's clear neither can stop thinking about the other. Yuri goes home to the middle of a revolution, and his well-off family is being targeted by the Bolsheviks. They are forced to move to their country estate in order to avoid further persecution. As it turns out, Lara lives in the town nearby their new cottage. Zhivago frequents the town often, first to spend time writing at the library and then to just meet up with Lara. What was a mutual fondness has blown up into a full love affair and we can see that while Tonya is Yuri's closest and oldest friend, Lara is his true love. It's sad and painful to watch the hardships faced by all of the characters, and only gets worse when on his way back home from breaking it off with Lara (Tonya is pregnant), Yuri is shanghaied and forced into service with the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. Kept away for more than a year, Yuri is desperate to see his family. He finally makes it back to town, only to find his family has fled to Paris. He finds comfort in the arms of Lara, who seems to be the only person left in the area. They finally have their time together, but it isn't meant to last - Lara's husband Pasha has been killed for his part in the war, and the troops are coming for Lara and her little girl. Komarovsky offers them a way out, and Lara and her daughter go. Zhivago, full of hatred for Komarovsky, ducks out at the last minute and reunites with his family in Moscow, but spends even his last breath trying to find Lara again.Highlights
Framing: The film's story is actually a long flashback told by Alec Guinness (who is awesome!!), who is Yuri's estranged brother, Yevgraf. The film starts with him questioning a young girl about her background and we learn that he is looking for his niece, the child of Yuri and Lara. She says she isn't the girl, but he seems positive and begins to tell her all about Yuri and Lara. The film beautifully closes with her leaving the room and walking off, slinging a balalaika over her shoulder. We know from the story that Yuri's mother played the balalaika like a master, and her instrument was Yuri's most prized possession. It's a simple yet beautiful way to tie the story together and confirm for most viewers that she is indeed Lara and Yuri's child.Cinematography: Doctor Zhivago is absolutely gorgeous. The scenes are so well presented and carefully detailed. I loved all the shots of Zhivago looking through windows at other worlds (oh so much symbolism, I'll have to leave it for another time!). There are also some really well-coordinated shots that either allude to deeper meanings or foreshadow future events (like the blood on the snow from the massacre). I read on IMDb about how most of the film was shot in Spain, where a ten-acre replica of Moscow was built in the countryside. Perhaps the most breathtaking scene is when all that snow finally melts and we see Zhivago's cottage surrounded by thousands of daffodils (actually 4,000, all of which had to be shipped in from the Netherlands). Now that's epic film-making! No wonder it won an Oscar for best cinematography.
Love Story: So all of this leads to one question - is it truly one of the greatest love stories of all time? I would say yes and no. I have to say I was a bit troubled by the fact that both Zhivago and Lara were married. And not just married, but Zhivago seemed happily married. I do have to give him credit though - he broke it off with Lara when Tonya was pregnant with their second child. But as their story unfolded, I could better empathize with them and in the end secretly hoped they would end up together. It's a chemistry you don't often see, even if that whole "getting the girl out of harm's way but not being able to go with her" sounds a bit like another great love story I've written about.... Of course, that heart-wrenching ending where Zhivago thinks he sees Lara for the last time is so poignant that you can't help but feel the pain of his loss. If you don't empathize with the characters for the whole film, you can at least admire their great courage in the face of such a devastating time.
Review & Recommendation
Doctor Zhivago is such a beautiful story, I'd definitely recommend this to everyone, although some of the scenes and topics are not appropriate for young ones. I'd also say you may want to brush up on your Russian history before watching to avoid too much confusion (I found myself trying very hard to remember my high school history class!). However, deep down, the film is really a simple love story - two people who love each other in spite of all the hatred and chaos in the world around them. You know from the beginning they can never live happily ever after, but somehow that loss only makes it that much more powerful. It's a definite must see for classic film fans and hopeless romantics alike. And finally I can't resist saying it: "We'll always have Varykino." Check out all of the cool stuff about Doctor Zhivago on IMDb's FAQ page. And when you watch, keep an eye out for young Yuri Zhivago - he's played by Omar Sharif's real life (and completely adorable!) son.
