The Unbearable Lightness of Being

"A lovers’ story."

1988 2h 51m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 543

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Successful surgeon Tomas leaves Prague for an operation, meets a young photographer named Tereza, and brings her back with him. Tereza is surprised to learn that Tomas is already having an affair with the bohemian Sabina, but when the Soviet invasion occurs, all three flee to Switzerland. Sabina begins an affair, Tom continues womanizing, and Tereza, disgusted, returns to Czechoslovakia. Realizing his mistake, Tomas decides to chase after her.

“A lovers’ story.”

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Cast

Daniel Day-Lewis
Tomas
Juliette Binoche
Tereza
Lena Olin
Sabina
Derek de Lint
Franz
Stellan Skarsgård
The Engineer
Erland Josephson
The Ambassador
Pavel Landovský
Pavel
Donald Moffat
Chief Surgeon

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Philip Kaufman
Writers: Jean-Claude Carrière, Philip Kaufman
Languages: Czech, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 171 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 59% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Czech, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Philip Kaufman, shot by Sven Nykvist. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mark Adler. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Vivien Hillgrove shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Philip Kaufman directs. Sven Nykvist behind the camera. Mark Adler scores. Vivien Hillgrove cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Czech, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 171 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Earned back only 59% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
338 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Czech, English.
5Directed by Philip Kaufman, shot by Sven Nykvist. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Mark Adler. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Vivien Hillgrove shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A lovers’ story.".
10IMDB entry: tt0096332 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 15 themes, including "infidelity", "waitress", "based on novel or book", "free love".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sven Nykvist
Original score: Mark Adler
Editing: Vivien Hillgrove
Production design: Pierre Guffroy
Costume design: Ann Roth
Makeup / hair: Suzanne Benoit
Sound: Mark Berger
Stunt coordinator: Rémy Julienne
Runtime: 171 min · 2h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $17,000,000
Box office: $10,000,000
Return: 59% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

Awards

National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director
Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Philip Kaufman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2024-01-23
★ 4/10
The Unbearable lightness of Sex. When the recently deceased Milan Kundera published “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” he probably knew that the book would be both loved and hated. Based on the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche, it outlines a story full of eroticism between four characters amid the turmoil resulting from the Prague Spring in 1968, and the “years of lead” that followed. What this film did was adapt the novel to the cinema, with some changes and focusing attention on the two central characters. I read the book many years ago and didn't like it. In the book, the author exposes philosophical positions taken from Nietzsche's ideas and where he privileges sex and the search for pleasure while relativizing and diminishing love. No idea could be more different from my thinking. After all, what could be more fleeting than an orgasm? In a subtle way, the book ends up proving me right: the characters live very troubled lives until the moment they find the serenity that stable feelings, such as love and friendship, can bring to each person's life. From this short review, you can already tell that I didn't like the film. I still decided to watch it due to the amount of positive opinions I heard and the presence of some big names in cinema. Directed by Philip Kaufman, the film was made almost immediately after the book was published, but the adaptation is quite weak. The film essentially focuses on one thing: sex. I shouldn't be exaggerating if I say that we can't watch thirty minutes of film without see a naked woman or a couple in the act, and the film is almost three hours long. It was something that had to be part of the film, given the content of the book, but I think there was an exaggeration on the part of the producers and screenwriters. Nudity is very present, bluntly, from all angles, which makes the film heavier. With so much attention to sordid details, the rich characterization of Kundera's characters got lost somewhere: Tereza couldn't seem more confused and Tomás was transformed into a debauched maniac who can't see a woman in front of him and can't respect his wife. What about the book's political plot, in which Kundera exposes his aversion to his country's regime? The film tells us very little. The images of the Prague Spring are striking, in large part due to the superb cinematography and the way they combined archival footage with the film, and we have the feeling, from then on, that the authorities' control is suffocating, but no much more is told or revealed to us. Again, the attention is focused on nudity and sex, not on what matters in the book. On a positive note, we must highlight the performance of the cast, led by Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche. Day-Lewis is undeniably a great actor and has immense talent, and the only thing that stops us from appreciating his performance more is the disgust for his character. Binoche, I confess, has already seemed much more interesting to me in other characters and works, but she also has enough space to shine. They also have the support of Lena Olin, Derek de Lint, and we can also count on the special participation of Stellan Skarsgård. On a technical level, in addition to the exquisite cinematography that I have already mentioned, we also have the excellent recreation of the period, palpable in all the props, sets and costumes and an excellent soundtrack.

Production companies