Dr. Zhivago

Today, when we think of epic films, we think of grand battles, trilogies, Russell Crowe running around with a sword, or Peter Jackson. Contemporary film has taken the stance that epic film making must be a grand story involving many people, cataloguing huge battles, or events that change the course of history. Even Crowe worked on the epic film A Beautiful Mind, which retold the story of John Nash and his battle with mental illness. Today, I try to offer a different perspective on an epic film; it’s a story with only a few closely tied characters during the peek of the Russian revolution. Our hero’s name is the one, the only Dr. Yuri Zhivago.

Unlike today’s epic films, Yuri’s tale has nothing to do with his life changing the course of history, or grand battles. This 200 minute story tells the tale of a simple man whose education as a doctor brings him to meet the two loves of his life: Tonya Gromeka (the beautiful Geraldine Chaplin) and Lara Antipova (Julie Christie.) In very short revisiting, Yuri marries a beautiful woman named Tonya. However, before meeting her, he meets up with a woman who is the sister of a man he treats. Years later, while serving in the army, he meets back up with her, and has a brief love affair. They are separated again, and he returns to his wife. They are forced to move with their daughter to the middle on nowhere Russia, and live out there. While living there, he travels to a nearby city, and is once again reunited with his wartime lover Lara. Living a life with two women, he has a child with Lara. During one of his travels back to the city, he is taken off to war to help the state and their injured men. Yuri abandons the army to return to the women he loves. However, doing so causes great harm to his wellbeing and his family’s safety.

Of course, that’s just a paraphrase; the film is 3 hours and 20 minutes, so it’s hard to get everything in there! One of the greatest things about this film is the direction and the technical advancements that it was making for it’s time. This film was produced in 1965, and demonstrates techniques that are still used today. Though the film is quite lengthy, its interesting perspectives, and in depth characters kept me interested in what would happen next. It’s almost like watching a short version of War and Piece. It’s an epic tale of one man who must survive one of the harshest times in Russian history, and maintain his love for wife, and lover, his daughter, and unborn child with Lara.

The acting certainly demonstrates the time period in which it was made. Though there are moments where campy acting seems to dominate, it’s important to know that it was a style at the time. No one really just SNAPS together when they kiss. However, outside of the few instances where this happens, the acting is solid, and for once, we care about what will happen to our hero (yes, he’s a hero despite not actually fighting a single battle.) It’s through his will, and desire to survive, and love, that we feel connected to Dr. Zhivago. It’s one of the greatest love stories of all time, and one of the better films produced. Directed by David Lean, this film has very few flaws.

Filmed in the country side of Spain during harsh winters, we really are brought into the bitterly cold, impoverished world that many Russians were forced to survive. Told through the eyes of Dr. Zhivago’s brother, General Yevgraf Zhivago (Alec Guinness,) the entire story is a flashback. Yevgraf is speaking to the daughter Dr. Zhivago has with Lara, trying to find out if she is in fact his long lost niece. It’s a beautiful story of survival, love, and family.

It’s long. Keep that in mind. And it was made in 1965. Keep that in mind as well. Otherwise this is a grand film to watch if you’ve got a night or two to dedicate to an Epic film of our past. Dr. Zhivago brings to us what used to be the definition of epic film making: no battle scenes, no huge casts, no world changing events: just the lives of a few people, and their love for one another. Perhaps that’s why people can relate to it so well. 8 of 10.