The Unbearable Lightness of Being (film)
| The Unbearable Lightness of Being | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Philip Kaufman |
| Produced by | Bertil Ohlsson Paul Zaentz Saul Zaentz |
| Screenplay by |
Jean-Claude Carrière Philip Kaufman |
| Based on |
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Mark Adler |
| Cinematography | Sven Nykvist |
| Edited by | Walter Murch |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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171 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $17,000,000 |
| Box office | $10,006,806 |
The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a 1988 American film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Milan Kundera, published in 1984. Director Philip Kaufman and screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière portray the effect on Czechoslovak artistic and intellectual life during the 1968 Prague Spring of socialist liberalization preceding the invasion by the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact that ushered in a period of communist repression. It portrays the moral, political, and psycho-sexual consequences for three bohemian friends: a surgeon, and two female artists with whom he has a sexual relationship.
Charismatic Czech brain surgeon Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis), a successful lothario in Communist Czechoslovakia, is pursuing a love/hate affair with Sabina (Lena Olin), an equally care-free artist in Prague. One day, Dr Tomas makes a long distance call to a spa town for a specialized surgery. There, he meets dissatisfied waitress Tereza (Juliette Binoche), who desires intellectual stimulation. She tracks him down in Prague and cohabits with him, complicating Tomas's extra-domestic sexual affairs.
Tomas asks Sabina to help Tereza find work as a photographer. Tereza is fascinated and jealous as she grasps that Sabina and Tomas are lovers, but has a somewhat lesbian affection for Sabina. Nevertheless, Tomas marries Tereza, in a simple ceremony with both perpetually laughing, followed by her double standard distress about Tomas' promiscuity. Although she considers leaving Tomas, she becomes more attached to Tomas when Soviet Army tanks invade Czechoslovakia. Amidst the confusion, Tereza photographs demonstrations against the Soviet forces and victims, then hands the rolls of film to foreigners to smuggle to the West. Facing the stultifying reality that replaced the Prague Spring, Tomas, Sabina and Tereza flee Czechoslovakia for Switzerland: first Sabina, then the hesitant Tomas and Tereza.
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