Doctor Zhivago

The Russian author Boris Pasternak's book, Doctor Zhivago, was first published in 1957.  I became aware of this novel when I noticed my mother, an avid reader of books, reading it (translated into English).

In 1965, Doctor Zhivago was made into a movie, directed by David Lean and which starred Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Alec Guinness, Rod Steiger, Ralph Richardson, Geraldine Chaplin and Tom Cortenay.  

In 1965, I was taking a course in Russian Literature at the University of Pennsylvania.  We read such classics as Crime and Punishment, Dead Souls, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Death of Ivan Ilych.

Our professor, a Russian emigre, arranged for the class to see Doctor Zhivago the movie for free at a theater where it was showing in center city Philadelphia.  The only problem was that it would be at 8 AM on a Saturday morning.  I enjoyed the movie very much, especially Lara's theme.

Doctor Zhivago was nominated for ten Oscars, winning five:  Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction - Color, Best Cinematography - Color, Best Costume Design - Color and Best Music Score.

Doctor Zhivago is an epic movie that runs for 193 minutes, more than three hours.  However, the essence of the film is a love story between Yuri (Sharif) and Lara (Christie).

They meet during World War I.  Yuri is a doctor and Lara a nurse taking care of wounded Russian soldiers.  

Yuri and Lara are both married to other people, but not passionately.  As a result of working together at a field hospital, they fall in love, but remain faithful to their spouses.  When the war ends, Yuri and Lara return to their respective homes.  

Yuri, who likes to write poetry, runs into trouble with the new Soviet government which considers his writing to be anti-communist.  To be safe, he arranges a trip from Moscow with his family to their country home in the Ural Mountains.  

One day, Yuri goes to a nearby town and by coincidence meets Lara.  They start having an affair.

At the same time, a civil war breaks out in Russia between the pro-communist Red Army and the anti-communist White Army.  On one occasion, when Yuri is returning from a liaison with Lara to his family's home, he is kidnapped by a group of Red Army soldiers and forced to be their doctor.

After two years, Yuri is finally able to escape.  He returns to discover that his family has left, returning to Moscow and eventually they move to Paris.

Yuri and Lara start living together in his family's country home.  Lara becomes endangered because of her husband's political connections.  A friend offers to help her escape, but without Yuri.  

Years later in Moscow, while on a trolley, Yuri spots Lara walking on the street.  When he is able to get off and tries to follow her, he has a massive heart attack and dies.  Another example of a love story that doesn't end happily.