DR ZHIVAGO

 Dr Zhivago was known to me as a classic  Hollywood movie made in the sixties, and I was aware of the unique Lara’s theme. I had no idea what it was about. Two weeks ago, I was looking through the classic novel section of the public library and came across Dr Zhivago. I realized that it was actually a classic Russian novel. I started reading, and the story demonstrated Yuri's (Dr Zhivago) loyalty to his wife, Tonya, even though he was caught in a romantic relationship with Lara during the war, while she was working as a nurse and searching for her husband. He was a doctor, and during his career endured a lot of hardship dealing with the chaos of the war and the revolution in the Soviet Union. He also enjoyed writing poetry, and the poem collections were at the back of the novel. The harsh reality of the intrusion into the citizens' personal lives and the consequences were clearly mentioned in the story. 

I managed to watch the movie as well, and I enjoyed the various scenes, the acting, and the attention to detail. I was anticipating a long movie, based on the events that needed to be covered from the book. The soundtrack was extremely touching, portraying a sense of love, hope, and chaos at the same time. It was painful to see that Tonya was doing her best to be a dutiful wife to Zhivago, but he had way more chemistry with Lara, and he would use every opportunity to get with her. 

I did some research and realized that Boris Pasternak’s book was banned in the soviet Union at the time, due to the negative portray on the revolution and its devastating effect on individuals. It was secretly printed and distributed internationally in the 1950s. He was later offered a Nobel Prize in Literature, but declined for fear of having to leave his home country. The movie was a big box office success and won several Academy Awards and was an inspiration for the next generation of filmmakers. Knowing that the cast of the movie had to make a little Moscow in Spain and shoot some of the winter shots in the middle of summer with artificial snow was interesting, as Moscow did not approve shooting the movie in Russia. It was fascinating that an Egyptian actor, Omar Sharif, managed to be picked as the lead actor, and Charlie Chaplin’s daughter played the part of Tonya. The director David Lean was a great storyteller and a perfectionist. There might have been a political incentive to spite the Soviet Union and raise awareness about the negative impact of the revolution. This masterpiece has had a huge impact on me, from the story to the soundtrack. I am going to sketch the two lead characters in the movie. It took the author 10 years to write this book, and it was partially related to the author’s life. 

I conclude with one of my favourite poems of Pasternak:

Autumn

I have allowed my family to scatter,

All those who were my dearest to depart,

And once again an age-long loneliness

Comes in to fill all nature and my heart.

Alone this cottage shelters me and you:

The wood is an unpeopled wilderness

And ways and footpaths wear, as in the song.

Weeds almost overgrowing each recess;

And where we sit together by ourselves

The log walls gaze upon us mournfully.

We gave no promise to leap obstacles,

We shall yet face our end with honesty.

At one we'll sit, at three again we'll rise,

My book with me, your sewing in your hand,

Nor with the dawning shall we realize

When all our kissing shall have had an end.

You leaves, more richly and more recklessly

Rustle your dresses, spill yourselves away,

And fill a past day's cup of bitterness

Still higher with the anguish of today!

All this delight, devotion and desire!

We'll fling ourselves into September's riot!

Immure yourself within the autumn's rustle

Entirely: go crazy, or be quiet!

How when you fall into my gentle arms

Enrobed in that silk-tasselled dressing gown

You shake the dress you wear away from you

As only coppices shake their leaves down!-

You are the blessing on my baneful way,

When life has depths worse than disease can reach,

And courage is the only root of beauty,

And it is this that draws us each to each.