Film REVIEW Doctor Zhivago

The word epic is bandied around a lot these days. Truly epic films are rare; in today’s world few viewers have the time or inclination to devote over three hours to watching a movie. But Doctor Zhivago, given a brief run at Cinema Eforie in honor of the actor Klaus Kinski, has retained its huge popularity despite its sprawling construction.

The film, based on the Boris Pasternak novel, is part drama, part war movie, part romance. It is the latter – along with the iconic imagery and classic soundtrack – for which it is best remembered and loved. The eponymous hero, poet and physician Yuri (Omar Sharif), and his love, the beautiful and damaged Lara (Julie Christie), are buffeted by the forces of family, society and history, star-crossed lovers who are thwarted at every turn. In what other romantic film does it take the couple a full two hours to get together!

Their struggles and the lives of those around them are played out against World War I, the Russian Revolution and Civil War, and the random chance, corruption and violence they wreak on the hopes of the characters. Yuri is torn between his burning love for Lara, affection for his supportive wife, sense of duty to his child, country and profession, his strong moral code and artistic leanings.

And the huge pathos and drama are more than matched visually and musically. Long treks in the snow and peaceful protestors coming under attack by Cossacks in the streets of Moscow are just two of a series of affecting scenes, while Lara’s theme is one of cinema’s most enduring leitmotifs.

It is all an appropriate backdrop to the charm and charisma of the central couple. Sharif makes a leading man who is essentially an aristocratic adulterer enormously sympathetic (plus he’s very handsome, despite the moustache). Christie’s Lara is a winning blend of temptation, vulnerability, strength and spirit. Their love story grips our attention through over three hours of sometimes testing plot.

Given that it was made in 1965, few people will be coming to Doctor Zhivago fresh. But the magnitude and ambition of David Lean’s celebrated film deserve to be savored on the big screen, making the Eforie run a rare treat.

Directed by: David Lean
Starring: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Tom Courtenay, Klaus Kinski
On at: Cinema Eforie, Monday 26 (15.00), Tuesday 27 (18.00), Wednesday 28 (18.00)

editorial@business-review.ro