Review of The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) by Sebastian T — 30 Dec 2012
Adapted from Milan Kundera's 1984 bestseller, and directed by Phillip Kaufman (Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and The Right Stuff (1983)), this is a dark romantic drama set during one of the most turbulent periods in Czechoslovakia's history.
It looks nice and it has a good cast, but it is a rather cold and hollow film, but the scenes depicting the Easter Rising are great to watch. It begins in 1968, when womanising doctor Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis) who cheats on his artist girlfriend Sabina (Lena Olin), leaves Prague to work briefly in a small spa town to help with an operation.
While there, he meets waitress Tereza (Juliette Binoche), who follows Tomas back to Prague. The Easter Rising happens, and Tomas, Sabina and Tereza leave and find refuge in Geneva, Switzerland. While there, Sabina falls for university professor Franz (Derek de Lint), but she doesn't find much happiness, and neither do Tomas and Tereza.
Who both go back to Prague, but the Soviet regeme has made it impossible for them to get their old jobs back. It's got lovely performances, and Kaufman has a good visual eye, but it's overlong and it doesn't quite know what it wants to say about what happened during the Easter Rising.
It has romance, but it has an odd and unusual way of depicting it. It could have been more.
This review of The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) was written by Sebastian T on 30 Dec 2012.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being has generally received positive reviews.
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