the unbearable lightness of being review

Under the playful sexual exploits of Tomas we sense a desire to block the rhythm of a reality where very few things are real. The three main characters we are introduced to, Tomas, Sabina, and Tereza, all represent fragments of a world which looks deceivingly peaceful. Little by little however The Unbearable Lightness of Being veers off in a direction where love and happiness are being quickly replaced by oppression and uncertainty. We see that before political demagogy sets its roots in Prague just about everything seems 'normal'- people meet, fall in love, and share their lives together.

Phillip Kaufman walks us into a world where certainly the people we see desire the usual things: happiness, love, prosperity. Set in the beautiful city of Prague only days before the notorious Russian invasion of 1968 The Unbearable Lightness of Being manages to accomplish what very few films have been able to achieve- a realistic portrait of a country manipulated by false politics. Months later Tereza appears at Tomas' flat in Prague and he allows her to spend the night with him. They strike a conversation, have a drink together, and soon afterwards Tomas goes back to the city. While on a short trip to the Czech countryside Tomas encounters Tereza (Juliette Binoche), a shy and stunningly beautiful waitress. From the pseudo-intellectual conversations to the passionate sexual interludes they indulge in the two lovers live in a world where everything appears to be perfect.

Together Tomas and Sabina have achieved an almost idyllic balance providing for each other what they could not otherwise have as individuals. Tomas (Daniel Day Lewis) is a successful surgeon in Prague where he shares an interesting relationship with Sabina (Lena Olin), a painter who enjoys her unbridled sexuality. A film of almost mythical beauty Phillip Kaufman's The Unbearable Lightness of Being tells the story of a young doctor entangled in a web of uncontrollable passion, social upheaval, and the madness of a time consumed by political hatred.

The unbearable lightness of being review