The Unbearable Lightness of Being ★★★½ 1988 (R) Tomas (Day Lewis), a young Czech doctor in the late 1960s, leads a sexually and emotionally carefree existence with a number of women, including provocative artist Olin. When he meets the fragile Binoche, he may be falling in love for the first time. On the eve of the 1968 Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia the two flee to Switzerland, but Binoche can't reconcile herself to exile and returns, followed by the reluctant Tomas who has lost his position because of his new-found political idealism. They lead an increasingly simple life, drawn ever closer together. The haunting ending caps off superb performances. Based on the novel by Milan Kundera. 172m/C VHS, DVD. Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Derek De Lint, Erland Josephson, Pavel Landovsky, Donald Moffat, Daniel Olbrychski, Stellan Skarsgard, Tormek Bork, Bruce Myers, Pavel Slaby, Pascale Kalensky, Jacques Ciron, Anne Lonnberg, Laszlo Szabo, Vladimir Valenta, Clovis Cornillac, Leon Lissek, Consuelo de Haviland;
Director:
Philip Kaufman;
Writer:
Jean-Claude Carriere, Philip Kaufman;
Writer:
Sven Nykvist;
Cameo:
Mark Adler, Ernie Fosselius, Leos Janacek. British Acad. '88: Adapt. Screenplay; Ind. Spirit '89: Cinematog.; Natl. Soc. Film Critics '88: Director (Kaufman), Film.
