On U List of Movie Reviews

(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)


The Unbearable Lightness
of Being (1988)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 5/08, 5/15, 2/22

UnbL
5/08: What should have been a '10' picture, The Unbearable Lightness of Being lacks direction and plot.

How it ends is also disappointing. In truth, the film merits a second viewing because I think it's that good. Daniel Day-Lewis is excellent as the serial womanizer, and Lena Olin is hot, hot, hot. Yet Juliette Binoche's performance leaves a lot to be desired.

These three are what makes The Unbearable Lightness of Being a sexy yet frustrating picture. I think it's due to the abstractness of what was happening during the Czech uprising that's hard for me to relate to. Also, it relies more on emotion than literalness. In comparison, Mickey Rourke and Kim Basigner have both of them which came across clearly in 9½ Weeks.

Of the direction, having seen a lot of Philip Kaufman's films including Quills, Twisted, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Right Stuff, and Rising Sun, I feel he's wrong for The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Kaufman is an able director, but his films lack completeness.

All in all, The Unbearable Lightness of Being shows promise, and I hope my opinion is better the next time I see it.

5/15: I realize now The Unbearable Lightness of Being isn't a great movie.

I've tried hard to like it for the sake of Daniel Day-Lewis, Lena Olin, and Juliette Binoche, but Philip Kaufman's misdirection proves too much for me. The first hour was going well until the street protest changed everything. Thereafter, things gradually got worse. It went in a bland direction, throwing me off what the story should be all about. The chief problem is the three-hour running time, creating a significant looseness in the material.

Lena Olin is perhaps granted too much screen time despite her character setting the tone by being mysterious in a sexy way. However, the longer she is shown, the more ordinary she becomes, undermining her effect in the long run. Regardless, Lena Olin stands out the most, being the originator of passion that's kept at a high level, thanks to Daniel Day-Lewis' helping hand. Together, they have the best scenes and rightfully so. In fact, because of their chemistry, the movie should be more focused on them.

Although I regard Daniel Day-Lewis as an excellent actor, his character is sadly almost one-dimensional. He keeps giving the same look that's supposed to be a turn-on, but is there anything else? Not for a second Daniel is believable as a brain surgeon who has the propensity to slip in and out of his womanizing habits so to emulate the modern-day Don Juan.

Juliette Binoche's performance is above average, but her Tereza is more stupid than childish. For somebody as pretty as she who has the ability to make a living as a photographer, I find it hard to believe. Hence, I wish she's more like Sabina but in a different way to give her a run for the money in vying for Tomas' attention to spice up things.

Philip Kaufman should've stayed with the material from the first hour, so he can finish out with a moral lesson. That way, The Unbearable Lightness of Being would work out better. But it's the Prague Spring demonstration that undid it although I understand this event is part of the story. Sometimes, it's better to leave it out and go in a different direction in the hopes of making a timeless classic. At the same time, the characters should've been further developed, so the film can appear poignant with a tragic finish.

If there's anything I love, it's the different, unique shots, hence the sexy foreign look. Having Daniel Day-Lewis (English), Lena Olin (Swedish), and Juliette Binoche (French) aboard helps a lot. There are many scenes that are unlike anything in American films. Perhaps it's why The Unbearable Lightness of Being continues to be revisited. However, by taking them away, it's nothing but a soft porno with little plot. By the way, I read the book, but the film version isn't the same. That's why Milan Kundera refused the rights to have any more of his works adapted into film.

All in all, despite the well-done performances, director Philip Kaufman is wrong for The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

2/22: The Unbearable Lightness of Being is an erotic classic with three unforgettable players.

The first hour is absolutely terrific. Then, the invasion of Czechoslovakia (Prague Spring) comes which ruins the momentum, making the second hour merely okay. The final stretch is when I start to say it had gone on far too long while wondering what the heck happened to Lena Olin.

At first, I thought it was a '8' or '9' movie with moments of '10'. But ultimately, '7' is the ceiling, and it'll never break through it. Don't get me wrong: Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, and Lena Olin are unbeatable. You can't mess up with these people giving sexual best of their careers. Rather, it's been the case of poor direction or bad editing...maybe both.

It's too bad about what happened to Tereza at the end, but I don't care much for Tomas. He was an inveterate womanizer, and I thought Tereza was already beautiful. I can understand why Tomas couldn't have Sabina. The scene when Sabina left the apartment with nothing but mirrors perfectly explains why: she's unattainable, can't be held back by commitments, and must always be a free-spirited artist.

All in all, the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being is basically unfilmable, but if they had the right director, it could've worked out.