Dr. Zhivago and Me; for Good or Ill

I watched the movie Dr. Zhivago recently, the first time in twenty years.

It hasn’t worn as well as I expected, but I suspect I’ve changed, not the movie.

We have a long history together.

I have no idea how many times I’ve seen the film since my first viewing at age thirteen.

But it caught and fired my imagination and propelled me in ways that surprise me now.

The memories and things I learned from watching Dr. Zhivago all those times played a part in who I am today.

As a teenager

Back in the Dark Ages where I was a teenager, you had to see a movie at the movie theater.

I saw it several times while in seventh grade.

That summer, my family toured Europe–camping in a Volkswagen van for 10 weeks.

Reading options while traveling overseas in the 1970s were limited by what you could find in a bookstore.

While in Paris, I found a mass market English paperback copy of Dr. Zhivago and immediately pounced on the book.

I knew the story from the movie and I waded right in,

It’s a tough read, particularly when you’re barely fourteen.

But I became so engrossed, that when I felt ill during out one day touring Versailles, I stayed in the car and read!

(I’ve never returned to see Louis XIV’s palace.)

In hindsight, I’m not sure how much I got out of the complex novel.

But I felt a lot warmer reading about the snowy train trip than watching it at the movie theater.

During one viewing with a friend, we devoured an entire pound of M&Ms.

In High School

Returning from Europe with the story in my ears–along with many others–I began to read Russian history books.

My favorite authors quickly became Robert K. Massie and Suzanne Massie.

Nicholas and Alexandra, Peter the Great, Land of the Firebird–they all captured my imagination.

The drama of that land seemed so exotic compared to my Los Angeles life.

Teenage girls are like that.

I even thought about studying the Russian language, perhaps in college?

During the Cold War that sounded like a possibility.

But when I examined the Cyrillic language and its complexity, I took a different route.

As an Adult

Still, the drama of Russia intrigued me.

I fell in love with Olga Ilyin’s dramatic White Road–liking it better because it lacked the moral issues I recognized by then in Dr. Zhivago.

I continued reading a variety of Russian history books, practically everything I saw about the doomed Romanov family.

And one day, I began writing a World War I novel.

I was surprised by how much I knew about the era–in part because of Dr. Zhivago!

Viewing the movie many years later

So we watched the film the other night.

I remembered everything very well.

I could play solitaire on my Ipad and look up when the dialogue indicated a scene I appreciated.

“Lara’s Theme” is as interminable and annoying as ever.

Robert Bolt wrote the screenplay from Pasternak’s difficult Russian novel.

It’s got holes in the plot line I can now see.

I’ve been happily married long enough, I thought some of the behavior ridiculous.

As a friend recently said, “Why not be satisfied with your wife?”

Drama, horror, Russia, snow, turmoil.

Moral ambiguities and poor choices.

It’s all the stuff of great drama.

But I’m so glad I don’t have to live a life like Dr. Zhivago.

The teenage me standing on the brink of life and romance wouldn’t have understood that, but I’m far wiser now.

Enjoy the movie, but live your life differently.

Tweetables

Dr. Zhivago hasn’t aged well but inspired a love of Russian history. Click to Tweet

Not a fan now, but grateful for what Dr. Zhivago inspired. Click to Tweet

Is there anything more romantic for a teenage girl than a Russian novel? Click to Tweet