Rating: 
Summary: Movie that surpasses the book it is based on.
Review: It is long. It is quiet and full of life and fantastic performances. Movie that stays with you for the rest of your life. One should get some kind of prize for title alone.
Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Moving and Wonderful Cinematic Experience
Review: This review refers to the MGM DVD edition of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"......"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" is a cinematic experience that will move you in many ways. The thrill of romance, the heartfelt friendships, the tension of Russian tanks rolling through Prague in 1968 and the passion of a people to take control of their own lives are all a big part of this wonderful film. It is beautifully filmed, with a hypnotizing screenplay, and a tremendous cast that fully capture the essence of each of the wonderful characters they portray. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, as Tomas, a renowned brain surgeon in Czechoslovakia(also renowned for his charms that no woman can resist)whose love for two very different women, creates a unique bonding and passionate love triangle between the three.
He can never forget the beautiful and seductive Sabina(Lena Olin), who seems to know him better than any other, and yet he cannot resist the charms of his wide-eyed and childlike but serious bride, Tereza(Juliette Binoche).But when politcal upheaval, interupts his perfect life, they must flee the country, where Tereza finds she cannot continue the lightness of life that Tomas has carved out for them. He must choose now, a decision that may have him sacrificing all in the name of love. A nearly three hours, there is not a frame in this excellent piece of filmmaking that I would change. With each view I fall more in love with it and always come away completly moved. It is Directed by Philip Kaufman("Quills"/"The Right Stuff") and includes Donald Moffat and Stellan Skarsgard in the wonderful cast.The music adds the perfect feel to the rollar coaster of emotions in the story and the photography is outstanding. This DVD by MGM is a nice transfer. The picture and colors are very good and it is presented in the theatrical release format of 1.85:1. The sound is superb in DD 5.1. It surrounds the room and every detail is clear and distinguishable.(The Criterion edition is in 2.0) Not much in the way of bonus features though, if that is what you are looking for. There is a theatrical trailer and it may be viewed with subtitles in English, French or Spanish. At this time I notice that Amazon is out of stock, and the merchants have some, but at very high prices. This DVD is not hard to come by. I found it at my neighborhood video store at the sugg. retail price(about half of what the sellers are asking for). This is a film to be enjoyed many times over by anyone who enjoys, romance, drama, a little comedy, and fine filmmaking. It is however rated R for nudity and explicit love scenes. Get ready for a moving experience and enjoy.....Laurie
Rating:
Summary: The movie follows the greatness of the book!
Review: "The movie is never as good as the book"- how many times have we read or heard this phrase? True, it is almost impossible to find a movie that resembles so much to the book in every detail and in addition is able to promote and bring the same feelings, ideas and messages. However, in this case the movie follows the greatness of the book and I am finally able to say that. The lines that are drawn in the book which captures different angles of the character's life, are very well interpreted and portrayed in the movie. It is a very long movie, but there is always a reason behind it. It is impossible to understand the message of the book, without capturing every story, analyzing it and break it down into details. I don't know much of Philip Kauffman's career, but I have read the book and I have seen the movie many times, and I can assure you that the movie has achieved it's goal. Daniel Day-Louis is superb because he has portrayed its character-Tomaz so unbelievebly well. Tomaz, the famous and respected neurosurgeoun which is part of the high intellectual class in Prague, ends up becoming a janitor cleaning windows and later on a farmer. This is how light life is, our exsitence as human beings. Is it for love, due to political circumstances at the time or just living reality to the fullest? And realizing how light our life is, we try in any way to make it more meaningful without realizing that it can be so, only if we want it to be so. Juliette Binoche(French) and Lena Olin(Swedish) are incredible and amazing. The characters are terribly hard to interpret, yet they reached the character's uniqueness and gave a great performance. It is a movie on life and how we live it. A great movie with a special European Cinema touch. If you have never seen the movie, please do watch it because you are missing a good lesson on life understanding. I assure you that you will be fulfilled and maybe ready to start reading the book right after watching the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Unbearable to miss, totally illuminating
Review: This movie adaptation of Miles Kundera's book, which I haven't read yet, is a lengthy and illuminating study on freedom versus captivity, strength versus weakness as seen in the interractions between a handsome womanizing surgeon, Tomas, his lover and the woman who understands him most, the artist Sabena, and a Tereza, bright young waitress Tomas meets after performing an operation at a spa-town. Tereza shows up in Prague and unlike his character, they get married, complete with a piglet wearing a necktie whose squeals cause them to giggle uncontrollably at the ceremony The movie is set during the Prague Spring, that brief shining moment when a liberal communism under Alexander Dubcek's socialism with a human face, seems possible. To which Tomas mentions the ill-fated uprising in Hungary (1956). Tomas himself contrasts King Oedipus to the Soviet leaders. Oedipus couldn't bear the sight of what he had done to bring about the plagues in Thebes, so he plucked his own eyes out and left. The Soviet leaders though, were unlike Oedipus. Their defense at Stalin's crimes after his death was "We didn't know." Morality also changed since Oedipus. Tomas then says that the Soviet hardliners stayed in power when they should have plucked their eyes out. He writes an article to that effect, something that will cost him dearly later. At one point, the table and glasses rumble as Tomas and Tereza are arguing. An earthquake? Tomas follows Tereza outside. The source of the tremor is then seen. Pushing its way aggressively down the alley towards them is the menacing shadow of a Soviet tank. Yes, it's 20 August 1968. A great highlight is when the picture turns to b&w portion during the demonstration in Wencesclas Square, soldiers atop tanks, people climbing on top of them, chants of "Dubcek" and "svoboda", the fire of machine guns and people fleeing, bodies covered with Czech flags, with Tomas and Tereza in the thick of the action, marching, fleeing, or in Tereza's case, snapping pictures like mad. The scene ends dramatically with a Soviet soldier warning her, pointing his pistol at her through the lens. Sabena, and later Tomas and Tereza flee for Geneva, but things don't work out. All three journey again, the latter two back to Czechoslovakia, where under the reinforced hardliners under the thumb of Leonid Brezhnev and Gustav Husak, their part in the uprising becomes a liability. Sabena is compatible with Tomas's sex opposed to love. She asks him, "Are you only searching for pleasure or is every a woman a new hat whose secrets you want to discover?" She is sexually independent, strong-minded, and the mistress of her destiny. This is demonstrated when she meets Franz, a married lawyer, in Geneva. At a cafe, she comments on how music becomes noise, that even the plastic flowers are in a filled vase, and points to the building behind her as the "uglification of the world. The only place we can find beauty is where its persecutors have overlooked it. It's a planetary process, and I can't stand it." She becomes Franz's lover, but when he leaves his wife to be with her, she fears for her freedom, realizes she has left one cage behind only to become prey to a different one. But ultimately, freedom leads to another cage, that of loneliness, and the lack of happiness. Tereza wants a monogamous relationship with Tomas, but finds esteem in doing something fulfilling, being a faithful wife who does her part. She can't adapt to Geneva so returns. In doing so, though, it's back to political captivity, back to a totalitarian regime, but at a lower status. If freedom/loneliness doesn't yield happiness, does that mean captivity and community yields it? Yes, there is quite a bit of sex and nudity here, but nothing gratuitous or pornographic. It's more a tasteful erotica, i.e. the much ballyhooed scenes of Sabena and Tereza photographing each other. Sabena comes off as haunted, serene, grave, at times a twinkle of mischief in the photos. Lena Olin gives the strongest performance here, exuding a strong, enigmatic, sensuous aura as the sexually independent Sabena. She would've been a strong candidate as an Oscar nominee. Praiase also to Juliette Binoche's sweet, shy, sensitive, loving Tereza, the role that boosted her to the spotlight. Daniel Day-Lewis's Tomas becomes more developed and human in the film's second half. One of those memorable movies that makes one think in depth.
Rating: 
Summary: A wispy shadow of Kundera's book...
Review: Making my comparison to Milan Kundera's book, I have to rate this movie fairly low. I don't believe Kaufman was able to capture the essence of Kundera's writing with this film representation. So much of Kundera's writing is internal to the characters, which is difficult (at best) to communicate on screen. Unfortunately, this is the richest part of the experience; I recommend the book, but found the movie decidedly unsatisfying.
Rating: 
Summary: Well made, but eh....
Review: The movie could have legitimately ended like 6 times before it actually did, and the sad thing is that each time I was hoping that the movie was over. Dont get me wrong I have nothing against movies that take their time, but this got a little ridiculous by the end. Other than that it was a very poingant film with great acting and directing. Just be prepared to stand up a lot as you begin to eject the tape, then sit back down realizing its not over.
Rating: 
Summary: The Unbearable Pain of Watching!
Review: I saw The Unbearable Lightness Of Being on TV one night and though I like some artsy films I didn't like this one at all, it was a boring never ending pretentious artsy fartsy mess filled with annoying obnoxious characters especially the character played by Daniel Day-Lewis, he is a good actor but his character is too unlikeable and the insipid meandering film is highly overrated!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but not much more than that
Review: Most of the time Phil Kaufman and me get along pretty good, and this time is no different. However, I really didn't get as involved in this one as I did The Wanderers, The Right Stuff, or Quills. Some provacative camera work a plus, though overall I thought it could have been better.
Rating:
Summary: High class, well made, cinematic masterpiece!
Review: I could go on and on about the various aspects of quality in this film...I will leave that for other reviewer's of this film. I would just like to add it is a beautiful masterpiece, complete in every way. An experience of old cold war Czechoslovakian lovers...there is tension, sadness, love scenes of high taste and quality throughout the film. Even a special few minutes when every woman watching the sequence on screen, would probably be a lesbian for the day. Its not about sex...its all about living a full life and loving someone deeply...buy this film and sit back and enjoy it...bring a handkerchief along for the ending.
Rating:
Summary: Take off your cloth
Review: This movie is about nothing but nudity and sex scenes! In the first hour or so there is hardly any dialogue... just a nude scene after another. The only main dailogue is "Take off your cloth." And personally I don't consider this as a dialogue either. I didn't see the love story in this movie... no honest expressions. Just a man who lives a play boy life. I found this movie very boring and I even had to forward many of the sex scenes that I couldn't stand any further! Maybe if this movie had a dialogue, it would have made sense! Maybe if it was shorter! Maybe if there was less sex scenese! Maybe if there was a better (senseful) ending..!
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