Themes: Political Unrest, Love Triangles, Infidelity
Main Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Derek de Lint, Erland Josephson
Release Year: 1988
Country: US
Run Time: 172 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In Philip Kaufman's surprisingly successful film adaptation of Czech author Milan Kundera's demanding 1984 bestseller, Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Tomas, an overly amorous Prague surgeon, while Juliette Binoche plays Tereza, the waiflike beauty whom he marries. Even though he's supposedly committed, Tomas continues his wanton womanizing, notably with his silken mistress Sabina (Lena Olin). Escaping the 1968 Russian invasion of Prague by heading for Geneva, Sabina takes up with another man and unexpectedly develops a friendship with Tereza. Meanwhile, Tomas, who previously was interested only in sex, becomes politicized by the collapse of Czechoslovakia's Dubcek regime. The Unbearable Lightness of Being may be too leisurely for some viewers, but other viewers may feel the same warm sense of inner satisfaction that is felt after finishing a good, long novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
This lush, haunting film features some of the most blunt and stirring eroticism this side of Last Tango in Paris. Almost universally lauded on its release, Lightness was called "the most openly sexual American film in ages" by one publication. Its sexual content was undeniable, but more remarkable than the numerous and acrobatic couplings was the complexity in director Philip Kaufman's treatment of adult sexuality. More sensual than sexual, Lightness went where few films dared, making sex less a voyeuristic pastime than a catalyst for commentary on the bittersweet nature of love and existence. Lightness's meditative, philosophical approach towards sex, borrowed from the Milan Kundera novel on which it was based, differed from that of most Hollywood films, which often feature sex as just a cartoonish expression of carnal delight. As a result, Lightness is one of the few films centered on adult sexuality that is in no way a date movie. It is also one of Kaufman's most celebrated films, laying the foundation for his subsequent journey into the realm of sexuality in Henry & June. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
The film begins with exposition on Tomas, a Czech brain surgeon (played by Daniel Day-Lewis), who lives a carefree life as a lothario. His lover, Sabina (Lena Olin), is an artist and is equally carefree. One day, Tomas leaves Prague to conduct a brain operation in a spa town. There, he meets Tereza (Juliette Binoche), a waitress who dreams of escaping her dreary life in the spa town. She follows him back to Prague and moves in with him, which complicates Tomas' sexual escapades with other women.
Tomas asks Sabina to help Tereza get work as a photographer. Tereza experiences a mixture of fascination and jealousy as she realizes that Sabina and Tomas have a sexual connection. Tereza's distress is interrupted by Soviet tanks rolling into Czechoslovakia. In the midst of the confusion that follows, Tereza takes pictures of the Soviet invasion and gives the film to foreigners to smuggle to the West. All three characters flee to Geneva, Switzerland. First Sabina and, after a while, Tereza and Tomas.
In Switzerland, Sabina meets Franz, a married university professor, and they begin a love affair. After some time, Franz announces to Sabina that he has left his wife and family. After he makes this declaration, Sabina leaves Franz (Derek de Lint) because she feels he would only weigh her down. Tereza and Tomas attempt to adapt to Switzerland, but when she discovers that Tomas has continued his sexual liaisons with other women, she decides to leave him and return to Czechoslovakia. Tomas is upset by her leaving and decides to follow Tereza back to Czechoslovakia even though his passport is confiscated. Upon his return, Tereza is elated.
Tomas tries to get his old job as a brain surgeon but is stifled by the new Soviet-backed regime regarding an article that he wrote prior to the Soviet invasion, in which he compared the Soviets to Oedipus Rex. Tomas wrote in his article that Oedipus plucked out his eyes when he realized his crime but the Soviets have not similarly acknowledged their crimes. The new regime asks him to sign a letter repudiating the article but Tomas refuses. Because of this, he is unable to practice medicine and gets work as a window washer and continues his womanizing.
Tereza gets a job as a waitress and meets an engineer. Because she is once again confronted with evidence of Tomas' infidelity, she decides to have an affair with the engineer. Soon afterwards, she fears that the engineer may be working for the new regime and that she and Tomas may be blackmailed concerning the affair. In desperation she contemplates suicide but is prevented by Tomas.
Tereza convinces Tomas to leave Prague and they go to a rural village where they are welcomed by an old patient of Tomas. There, they live an idyllic life together as farmers, far away from the political intrigues of Prague. In contrast to them, Sabina has gone to America where she continues to live her single, bohemian lifestyle. In America, Sabina is shocked to receive a letter that tells her that Tereza and Tomas have died in a truck accident while driving back to their village after celebrating with their friends in another town.
The film ends with Tomas and Tereza both in a state of deep happiness as they drive back to their village shortly before their deaths.
Kundera served as an active (but uncredited) consultant during the making of the film. The poem which Tomas whispers into Tereza's ear as she is falling asleep, was written specifically for the film by Kundera.[2]
Reception
The film garnered high praise from critics. The film criticism aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes has The Unbearable Lightness of Being rated as 100% "fresh" (positive).[1]. It is also listed as one of the top 100 love stories in American Cinema by the American Film Institute [3]
