An atrocious mutilation of the novel's spirit and meaning

Rating: 1/10 (26 July 2010)

This movie has absolutely nothing in common with the original novel, neither in meaning, the mood nor the philosophy of it. Pasternak's novel is almost like a poem and historical document combined into one, written about what it felt like to be in the middle of the biggest social change ever to be befall a human being, with events almost too large to comprehend. It is not a perfect work, but it is nothing if not complex, deep, heartfelt and fascinating.
By comparison, the movie is so completely disconnected from any topic of the novel, it's not even a caricature - it's a completely unrelated comic-book melodramatic story set in some fictional country on a fictional planet with balalaikas hanging on the walls as decorations (oh the hilarity of it!).
So OK, big deal, it's not based on the original book, so who cares? Well, if it had any merit in other departments, other than melodramatic one, I wouldn't mind so much. But for anyone who knows anything about Russia, watching this movie without laughter is impossible. The clichés (both historical, cultural and political) are so primitive and thick, you can slice them with a chain-saw.