A true artist will not be bought off.

Rating: 9/10 (30 July 2005)

It's amazing how one's perceptions of something can change, such as one's opinion of a movie like Doctor Zhivago. Heretofore this movie had seemed to be overly long, stagy, pretentious and boring. But after watching the movie again, this is another take on the story. The movie is about creativity in times of turmoil, about artistic integrity and about a man's desire not only to survive but to do so on his own terms. The main character, Doctor Zhivago, could have easily sold out to the Bolsheviks but at the price of his artistic integrity, which he would not surrender at any price. Far from being stagy, the acting is powerful, the scenes intense, the conflicts well defined. Throughout the movie the Doctor has choices to make and his choices are always on the side of what is good for those for whom he cares. Zhivago's half-brother, Yuri, serves as a metaphor for what the Doctor would have become if he had towed the line, just another bureaucrat. This movie offers an inspirational story about a man who stays true to his beliefs while under immense pressure to conform. Wonderful movie.
If someone is suffering from insomnia or some other kind of sleep deprivation disorder, permit me to recommend a dose of Doctor Zhivago. Now this statement may come as a surprise to any history aficionado who has ever studied the Russian Revolution in which the story of this movie takes place. Few, if any, events in human history were more exciting and dynamic than the Russian Revolution. But after this movie gets through with the Russian Revolution, you may never want to study history again. In this movie the Russian Revolution is relegated to being a mere back-drop for some kind of convoluted love-triangle, or love-square, or love-something, all revolving around the character of Yuri Zhivago who has to be the weakest central character ever contrived in the history of Hollywood. Now, a dramatic movie is not a documentary and one should not expect more than the usual Hollywood treatment of great events in history. But this movie is so banal and the characters, with the exception of Komorofsky, so weak, unlikable, pretentious and forgettable, that one may lose all interest in history and make believe that the Russian Revolution never happened. But at least you'll get a good night's sleep.