Day 55: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

Philip Kaufman’s adaptation of Milan Kundera’s novel, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” is a sexy romantic drama that entwines the lives of a man, his wife, and his mistress in the Soviet and Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. As the pressure of Communism grows stronger in the small Socialist country, the ties that bind this love triangle grow strained and decisions between lust and commitment will be made that will change the lives of all involved.

As the story begins, Czech brain surgeon Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis) is the very essence of a playboy, carrying on with any woman who meets his fancy, but most regularly with Sabina (Lena Olin), a care-free painter, who holds the same sensibilities towards love and sex as Tomas. But then our promiscuous protagonist meets Tereza (Juliette Binoche), a simple waitress, who enraptures him with her beauty and innocence.

Soon the two are married and living in Prague where Tereza finds work as a photographer, capturing the ongoing tension between the Czech people and the Soviets. Though they are happy as a couple, Tomas has fallen back in his old ways and continued his affair with Sabina, leading Tereza, when she finds out, to demand from him a life of monogamy that he is unsure he can keep. But, before either of them can decide the next step in their relationship, The Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia and Tereza finds herself and her camera on the front lines of the action, which could very well put her, Tomas, and even Sabina in a line of bureaucratic fire.

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” is a portrait of beauty, but also its destruction, both in society and in ourselves. For example, between the two lead females, Sabina and Tereza, we receive almost a ying and yang of femininity with Sabina representing the more outer aspects of beauty and Tereza dealing in the innate. For Tomas, Sabina gives him a tangible object of beauty, something that can be cherished hands on. She has a level of self confidence with her body and she represents the freer spirit of sexuality. In Tereza, Tomas is instantly captured by the beauty of her innocence. She is pure and honest and this not only makes up for her lack of sensuality but is, in the end, more important. Though Tomas promiscuous actions are appalling, it is understandable why he has difficulty choosing between the two woman as both fulfill half of his needs and only together do they make him feel whole.

Also, much of the film talks about the beauty of society, using the Czechoslovakian invasion as a symbol for its destruction. For when the Soviet Union arrives in the country, they film’s color palate grows grayer and Tereza’s photographs, her way of creating beauty, are taken and considered, by the Communist party, as a detriment to progress.

In one scene in particular, Sabina is having lunch with a suitor and makes a comment about the restaurant’s decor- chiding the tuneless music playing over the room’s speakers. She says, “Everywhere music is turning into noise.” This is a defining statement, not just about music, but about the world’s whole idea of beauty in society. Every year it’s getting louder, shriller, and less defined and, even without government repression, we have, in many ways, given up on expecting anything more from our society, our world, or even ourselves.

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” is a sexually charged drama that makes its two-and-a-half hour film time blur right by with both its captivating story and amazing characters. It’s defiantly a must see.

To learn more about, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” check out Criterion’s page here.

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