Chaplin/Tonya, or Christie/Lara?

I bieve Tonya leaves Russia for France.

I liked the movie, but I genuinely didn't understand Zhivago's motivation for his affair. Tonya was the sort of loyal wife most every man dreams of having. Zhivago didn't really seem like "the type" to have an affair just based on lust, but even if he did, Geraldine Chaplin is certainly a very attractive woman herself, so really there was no reason for him to be unfulfilled in that area either.

Maybe he just thought Tonya was "simple" whereas he could relate to Lara on a more intellectual level, hence why she inspired all his poetry.

Definitely Tonya. She was so noble and decent, loving, kind, and obviously very beautiful. Sure, Lara was beautiful too, and had her own noble character, but really, Tonya would be my choice always.

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Julie Christie is beautiful but distractingly contemporary looking, with bleached blonde pouffy 1960s hair and a tan, to boot. I also found that Shariff's Yuri seemed more tender with Geraldine Chaplin's Tanya, more connected. They seemed to belong together. I didn't dislike Lara. I've never disliked the people Julie Christie plays; they're always relatable in some way, not vain, and down to earth.

For me it's not a matter of which woman is better, but which couple is better. Without question Yuri/Tanya is the couple. I remember being upset when Tanya disappeared from the film. If Yuri had been flung apart from his family without his control, separated thousands of miles, and started an affair with Lara, it would have felt more real. But even then I wouldn't have believed they could have succeeded as a couple after the war.

Tonya all the way.

// gergely-szabo.com

Always prefered Tonya

Definitely Tonya for me. Such a beautiful and kind hearted character. One of the saddest elements of the film to me is how Zhivago loses her and they never meet again.