MovieChat Forums > Doctor Zhivago (1965) Discussion > That Damn Balalaika!

That Damn Balalaika!

posted 9 years ago by skyscanner
8 replies | jump to latest

In the early scenes, after Yuri's mother's funeral, Yuri is given his mother's red balalaika, which he claims not to be able play. All through the movie, not one of the characters play that balalaika, yet it is carried with them in the most difficult of circumstances. Yevgraf tells the family what to take when fleeing Moscow, and of all the essentials you might bring with you, why that balalaika?! When Tonya visits Lara before being exiled to Paris, one of the things she leaves for Yuri is that balalaika. Then, when Lara finally leaves Yuriatin with Victor on the train, she takes the balalaika with her. Yet no one plays the damn thing, ever!!

Oh, by the way, there's a balalaika goof that no one seems to have spotted: When Yuri gets to Lara's house after deserting from the partisans, she reveals the balalaika by drawing back a curtain under a table, and this action makes the strings resonate audibly. Yet, the balalaika has its neck wrapped in a blanket, which would muffle a sound like that!

[–] hafabee 9 years ago

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Those are some keen observations there, and I'm going to answer them with the only answer possible (and to which you already know I'm sure), and that is the balalaika is a symbol of continuity in the film.

It's proof of what really matters in life; love and art, and symbolizes both. But I get what you're driving at; it must have been a pain to drag that thing all over Russia when no one could play it! It's quite the enormous keepsake for such times, you'd think a smaller item would have been more practical. It's a shame Yuri's mother didn't master the harmonica instead.

[–] rrb_1 9 years ago

God, you both miss the boat. Taken literally, the balalaika was the only relic he had of his mother. Of course he treasured it and carried it with him everywhere.

From a metaphoric sense, I partially agree with hafabee, but I don't see how it's a symbol of "continuity," or how that's a theme of the story. However, art, and its power to give both beauty and meaning to life, is. In that light, the balalaika represents the artistic inclination being passed mystically from mother to Yuri to the daughter he never knew, Tanya. I say mystically: Tanya is said in the end to be not a player, but an artist with the instrument, even though no one taught her.

[–] ago-silverman 8 years ago

And a symbol of Mother Russia, his mother, and that's why he would never leave, even if he could.
https://youtu.be/d7-58Pq5Ze0
in VA

[–] rrb_1 8 years ago

Then why did he give it to Lara to take out of the country?

[–] jsm-33292 8 years ago

I think it serves a similar purpose to Kane's 'Rosebud' sledge in Citizen Kane.

[–] ago-silverman 8 years ago

https://youtu.be/d7-58Pq5Ze0

its symbolic and why he would never leave
in VA

[–] cheapfrill 8 years ago

It's like the plant in Leon: The Professional or the watch in Pulp Fiction. A symbol to pass through the ages and the family to convey a sense of meaning and belonging.

[–] angelosdaughter (158) 5 years ago

The balalaika is a family heirloom. Maybe Yuri, being a doctor, knew that Lara carried his child, and being unsure of his own fate, wanted to be sure that the instrument remained with the family. Or maybe knowing that Tonya had consigned the balalaika to Lara's care, and she would care for it because it had been his mother's, that maybe she would somehow contact Tonya and return the instrument to the Zhivago family.
As it turns out, Lara gives birth to Yuri's daughter, Tonya. In the last scene as Tonya II walks away from Yevgraf, he calls out asking if she can play the balalaika that is slung over her shoulder, and the boyfriend answers "Can she play!!!" So yes, although not played by a character in the movie, a character does know how to play it. When Tonya answers that no one taught her to plai, Yevgraf calls out, "It's a gift", apparently a family talent that has been passed down. Although we never see Yuri strumming the balalaika, it is likely that he can play. We just don't see him in many situations where he would play.
In my opinion, the balalaika is a lovely romantic touch, and yes, a symbol of continuity, of a family's survival in spite of the chaos that Russia is in with families being uprooted and scattered.
I understand from reading other posts, that in the novel, Lara's second daughter is only ever referred to as 'the Girl'. i am going to try to read the book.