The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Love without the full commitment of the heart is not love at all. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a romance set against the backdrop of the 1968 Prague Spring and subsequent invasion by the U.S.S.R. The gifted yet lascivious surgeon named Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis) spends his free hours seducing women for sport, favoring his long-time lover, the voluptuous Sabina (Lena Olin). When Tomas sets his sights on a young waitress named Tereza (Juliette Binoche), he successfully arouses the fullness of her love and in time they are married. Tomas struggles with balancing his sexual urges with his desire to avoid hurting Tereza through his infidelity.
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The Unbearable Lightness of Being was adapted by Philip Kaufman from the novel of the same name by Milan Kundera, the majority of which concerns the love triangle between Tomas, Tereza, and Sabina, and how they each come to terms with their hearts' desires. Tomas is a talented yet arrogant doctor who struts through his hospital in Prague with a cool indifference--a quality which the many beautiful women who cross his path find intoxicating. As the opening title cards observe, Sabina is the one who best "understands" him, and with whom he is the most relaxed. She teases him about his practice of not staying the night with the women he beds, an idiosyncratic way of absolving himself of the guilt of fornication, revisited by one of Sabina's lovers, Franz (Derek de Lint). Tomas and Sabina watch themselves making love in her full body mirror, an act that appeals to their vanity and their easy attitude toward sexuality. Sabina knows that she has no exclusivity over Tomas, but it isn't until he begins to check his watch during their passionate encounters that she becomes offended, saying that she won't be treated like a third fiddle. Tomas's seduction of Tereza is so effortless that it reveals how well-practiced he is at it. Tereza is visibly awkward and guileless; his scheme looks like real love to her, and she falls for the charming doctor. It isn't hard for a woman to find Tomas attractive; he is suave, intelligent, stylish, and even cosmopolitan. Tereza comes from a backwater spa town, and is excited to share her passion for Tolstoy with the older sophisticate. After Tomas charms Tereza, they fall into each other's arms, and he wakes up with her hand in his--breaking his self-imposed taboo. This is the first part of a lengthy process that compels Tomas to reevaluate what his heart truly wants, even if the transition is a tumultuous one. There is a scene where Tomas, Tereza, Sabina, and some friends are at a nightclub, and they mock a table of Soviet sympathizers while debating how one can identify someone as a "scoundrel". Tomas claims that a scoundrel doesn't know he is one until after he has hurt someone, and adds that the only saving grace for a scoundrel is to show penitence for their crimes, using the classic Greek tragedy of "Oedipus Rex" as an example. This is ironic because Tomas is a scoundrel by his own definition for much of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Tereza possesses an acute sense for when Tomas has slept with someone else; when she accuses him of this, he unconvincingly lies to her, breaking her heart all over again. Tomas's cheating confuses Tereza and eventually leads her into the arms of another man, a patron at a bar where she works who identifies himself as an "engineer" (Stellan Skarsgård). Like with Antonio Salieri in Amadeus--also produced by Saul Zaentz--the cognitive dissonance in Tomas's heart pulls him in two different directions; he must choose between Sabina or Tereza or be ripped apart. Tereza's delicate soul compels her to return home to Prague from Geneva; it is not meant to be an ultimatum for Tomas, but he relinquishes his former life as a lothario to be joined with the one woman who truly means the most to him.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being weaves the narratives of the three protagonists together so effortlessly, that none of them could be definitively called the "main character". Tomas has a propensity to draw women into his orbit--like Tereza, whose world revolves around him after they spend the night together. Tereza is a complete innocent, and naive to a fault; but her love for Tomas is wholesome and total, which makes his infidelity all the more painful. She struggles to understand what it is he gains from cheating on her, and goes so far as to offer to debase herself to satisfy him. Tomas may be weak-willed when it comes to beautiful women, but he is not so monstrous as to encourage that she undertake a psychologically damaging experience. He is entranced by Tereza's innocent love and her kindness, missing from the amorous circles he travels in where the other players are accustomed to adultery. Tereza is like a sad puppy dog waiting by the window for her "master" to return after their first night together; by comparison, Sabina is a cat--confident and independent, lithe and mischievous. Sabina likes to play her own games with Tomas, creating her artwork while wearing a paint-flecked shirt over alluring lingerie, and wearing the black derby Tomas finds irresistable. Sabina is the complete opposite of Tereza; she is worldly, sensual, and experienced in physical love. She moves without shame in the nude, and exercises Tomas's libido with her own. Much of Sabina's art is sensual, from Georgia O'Keeffe-esque erotic flowers to life-sized mirrors in the shape of the female form. Tomas is prideful enough to believe that he can juggle both relationships without complications, and tempts fate by introducing Tereza and Sabina under the auspices that Sabina can help Tereza find work as an artist, considering her fondness for photography. When the Soviets drive their tanks into downtown Prague, the imagery--gorgeously shot by renowned cinematographer, Sven Nykvist--is filtered to merge the action with archival footage. Tereza's keen eye for photographing the invasion helps disseminate the news abroad, but unfortunately incriminates some of the protesters when her film is confiscated. After she and Tomas flee to Geneva, she finds that the Swiss press is not interested in publishing her pictures, and insipidly suggests that she take fashion photos instead. All of this leads to Tereza soliciting Sabina in private to take nude photos of her for practice. The scene has the trappings of eroticism, but without any semblance of romance. It is always on the verge of escalating into some simulation of passion, but their ritual is a hollow one, and both Tereza and Sabina know this. The shadow of Tomas is ubiquitous; Sabina mockingly parrots his foreplay by telling Tereza to "take your clothes off" after she decides to turn the tables and take photos of her. In a lesser film, such a scene would devolve into exploitative lesbian erotica, but in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, represents the lengths to which these two women who both love Tomas are willing to go to understand his desires.
Recommended for: Fans of a complex love story that deals with themes like monogamy and honesty in a relationship, set during a tumultuous era. The Unbearable Lightness of Being boasts daring and committed performances by some of cinema's best actors, and depicts dramatic transformations of the heart and the lengths to which people will go for love.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being weaves the narratives of the three protagonists together so effortlessly, that none of them could be definitively called the "main character". Tomas has a propensity to draw women into his orbit--like Tereza, whose world revolves around him after they spend the night together. Tereza is a complete innocent, and naive to a fault; but her love for Tomas is wholesome and total, which makes his infidelity all the more painful. She struggles to understand what it is he gains from cheating on her, and goes so far as to offer to debase herself to satisfy him. Tomas may be weak-willed when it comes to beautiful women, but he is not so monstrous as to encourage that she undertake a psychologically damaging experience. He is entranced by Tereza's innocent love and her kindness, missing from the amorous circles he travels in where the other players are accustomed to adultery. Tereza is like a sad puppy dog waiting by the window for her "master" to return after their first night together; by comparison, Sabina is a cat--confident and independent, lithe and mischievous. Sabina likes to play her own games with Tomas, creating her artwork while wearing a paint-flecked shirt over alluring lingerie, and wearing the black derby Tomas finds irresistable. Sabina is the complete opposite of Tereza; she is worldly, sensual, and experienced in physical love. She moves without shame in the nude, and exercises Tomas's libido with her own. Much of Sabina's art is sensual, from Georgia O'Keeffe-esque erotic flowers to life-sized mirrors in the shape of the female form. Tomas is prideful enough to believe that he can juggle both relationships without complications, and tempts fate by introducing Tereza and Sabina under the auspices that Sabina can help Tereza find work as an artist, considering her fondness for photography. When the Soviets drive their tanks into downtown Prague, the imagery--gorgeously shot by renowned cinematographer, Sven Nykvist--is filtered to merge the action with archival footage. Tereza's keen eye for photographing the invasion helps disseminate the news abroad, but unfortunately incriminates some of the protesters when her film is confiscated. After she and Tomas flee to Geneva, she finds that the Swiss press is not interested in publishing her pictures, and insipidly suggests that she take fashion photos instead. All of this leads to Tereza soliciting Sabina in private to take nude photos of her for practice. The scene has the trappings of eroticism, but without any semblance of romance. It is always on the verge of escalating into some simulation of passion, but their ritual is a hollow one, and both Tereza and Sabina know this. The shadow of Tomas is ubiquitous; Sabina mockingly parrots his foreplay by telling Tereza to "take your clothes off" after she decides to turn the tables and take photos of her. In a lesser film, such a scene would devolve into exploitative lesbian erotica, but in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, represents the lengths to which these two women who both love Tomas are willing to go to understand his desires.
Recommended for: Fans of a complex love story that deals with themes like monogamy and honesty in a relationship, set during a tumultuous era. The Unbearable Lightness of Being boasts daring and committed performances by some of cinema's best actors, and depicts dramatic transformations of the heart and the lengths to which people will go for love.