Original title
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Genre
Drama
Directed by
Philip Kaufman
Written by
Milan Kundera (novel)
Jean-Claude Carrière (screenplay)
Country
USA 1988
Running time
ca. 171 min
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 Summary
"The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a profoundly beguiling movie about sex, love and rebellion. Its lead characters caper through Prague Spring, Czechoslovakia's 1968 version of the Summer of Love, and then try to withstand the effects of Soviet occupation. They achieve an offhand grandeur. As they drop verbal bombshells about the murderous duplicity of politics and the uglification of the universe, they never lose their ardor or originality. All they want to rule them is passion."
Tomas is a doctor and a playboy. Never one to spend the whole night with a woman, he contents himself with various mistresses, including Sabina, a free-spirited artist, until he meets Tereza, a quiet, bookish girl from the Czech countryside.
When she shows up unannounced on his doorstep one evening, he approaches their first night as he would any other, only to wake up beside her the next morning.
Slowly, she becomes a part of him, and together they fight against the communist occupation of their country, flee to the safety of Geneva, and when Tereza chooses to return to Prague, he follows her.
Together, they manage to forge a life for themselves, leaving the politics of an occupied city behind, seeking the peace and tranquility of country life.
Sabina - Lena Olin
Sabina is an artist, and probably the woman who understands Tomas the best.
When Tomas asks her to help Tereza find a job, she agrees, because she understands that he's really asking her to help him.
In the process, she and Tereza form a unique friendship, and in some ways, Sabina becomes the bridge between Tomas and Tereza.
Also apolitical, she leaves the rebellion behind soon after the Russian invasion, and heads to Geneva, where she meets Franz.
Always one to shun attachments to places and people, she leaves for America when Franz announces that he's left his wife for her.
Main Cast
Daniel Day-Lewis
Lena Olin
Juliette Binoche
Derek de Lint
Erland Josephson
Pavel Landovsky
Donald Moffat
Tomek Bork
Stellan Skarsgård
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Tomas
Sabina
Tereza
Franz
Ambassador
Pavel
Chief Surgeon
Jiri
The Engineer
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Memorable Quotes
"I really like you Tomas. You are the complete opposite of kitsch. In the Kingdom of Kitsch you would be a monster."
"Are you only searching for pleasure? Or is every woman a new land whose secrets you want to discover?"
"It's very messy around here. I always try not to get too attached to a place... to objects... or to people."
"You're not going to become boring, are you?"
"Look out there... those buildings... the uglification of the world. The only place we can find beauty, is it its persecutors have overlooked it. It's a planetary process, and I can't stand it."
"How can they eat food and listen to shit?"
"I like to leave places."
"I love trains. They are so erotic."
"I've met another man. He's the best man I've ever met. He's bright, handsome and he's crazy about me. And, he's married. There's only one thing; he doesn't like my hat."
"For that... we better have a drink first."
"Take off your clothes. Now it's my turn."
"Maybe I'm seeing you for the last time."
Background Info
IMDb Movie Info
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The Lena Olin Forum
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
