X
- 1988
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 2 h 51 m
- 1988
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 2 h 51 m
Summary In 1968, a Czech doctor with an active sex life meets a woman who wants monogamy, and then the Soviet invasion further disrupts their lives.
Directed By: Philip Kaufman
Written By: Milan Kundera, Jean-Claude Carrière, Philip Kaufman
- 1988
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 2 h 51 m
- 1988
- R
- Orion Pictures
- 2 h 51 m
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
73
7.4
Where to Watch
Summary In 1968, a Czech doctor with an active sex life meets a woman who wants monogamy, and then the Soviet invasion further disrupts their lives.
Directed By: Philip Kaufman
Written By: Milan Kundera, Jean-Claude Carrière, Philip Kaufman
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
73
59% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
41% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
73
59% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
41% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Glorious...touching in sophisticated ways that you don't expect from an American director.
At its tense, funny/melancholy best it hits notes other movies don't even attempt. It was probably folly to film this unfilmable book in the first place. But what an honorable, fascinating folly. [15 Feb 1988, p.71]
Regarded as essentially unfilmable by many observers, so Philip Kaufman has pulled off a near-miracle in creating this richly satisfying adaptation.
But these achievements and others—including an undeniable erotic charge to some of the scenes—add up to less than the sum of their parts without a strong enough overall vision to shape them. When Kaufman reaches beyond the novel to flesh things out—with the old-fashioned musical taste of Russian officials, the sexual exploits of the hero, or the expanded part of a pet pig—he usually flattens rather than enhances what's left of the material
Mr. Day-Lewis, Miss Binoche and Miss Olin (who was spectacular in Ingmar Bergman's ''After the Rehearsal'') are surprisingly fine -both modest and intense as lovers whose private lives are defined by public events.
Unfortunately, for all its credentials and the virtuoso performances of its three leads, this lengthy movie doesn't add up to much. It fails to explore its themes--love and hedonism, freedom and commitment (political and sexual)--in depth, floating haphazardly from scene to scene without emotional or intellectual development.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 User Ratings
7.4
67% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
25% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 User Ratings
7.4
67% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
25% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
The Saul Zaentz Company
Release Date Feb 5, 1988
Duration 2 h 51 m
Rating R
Tagline A Lovers Story.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 2 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 2 Nominations
National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA
• 2 Wins & 4 Nominations
