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The Unbearable Lightness of Being
1988
Romance
Drama
2h 51m
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. (imdb)
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The Unbearable Lightness of Being
1988
Romance
Drama
2h 51m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 59.03% from 1042 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews
(1049)
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Rated 03 Apr 2024
40
15th
The soviet invasion surely does not disrupt these people’s lives. It’s not even a factor in any way. What’s left is standard hokey love triangle fair with endless, endless, endless amounts of scenes of Daniel Day Lewis fucking his way through European cities with little to no consequence to any plot. And the accents, HA!!!! I resent this movie because it’s not quite bad enough to turn off, so definitely a waste of 3 hours during which i felt taken hostage. I also hated Lena Olin’s hat a lot
Rated 03 Apr 2024
Rated 25 Jan 2014
40
12th
I wish the Soviets had invaded on day 1 & one of their tanks had crushed DDL's wang.Roll credits.
Rated 25 Jan 2014
Rated 23 Jun 2016
68
27th
Il libro e' molto superiore qualitativamente; un film un po' anonimo e lento, ma che si guarda volentieri.
Rated 23 Jun 2016
Rated 19 Apr 2010
60
31st
The unbearable boredom of watching this movie.
Rated 19 Apr 2010
Rated 24 Aug 2007
90
81st
A great movie that comes off as a guilty pleasure for me. Probably because I first watched it when I was younger, when I watched it for the sex and not for the romance. When the romance grew on me, I think that is when it became the guilty pleasure. Now that I'm older, the sex is the guilty pleasure.
Rated 24 Aug 2007
Rated 01 May 2009
95
93rd
Fantastic, romantic, tragic...and more. Highly recommended.
Rated 01 May 2009
Rated 08 Sep 2011
53
42nd
An at times beautifully shot film, held together by the excellent DDL and Binoche. Even so I found it very cliche, at times dull and actually slightly unintentionally silly. It really didn't do anything for me because frankly the charm of watching DDL slowly and methodically bang his way through Europe wears thin pretty quick. Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for it? But even so I'm not likely to give this movie a second chance!
Rated 08 Sep 2011
Rated 08 Jul 2012
91
96th
Day-Lewis is electrifying in this brilliant adaptation. Kundera apparently disliked the movie so much that all of his subsequent novels contain a notice forbidding its adaptation to screen. I must read the novel so because the imagery, sybolism, photography and direction all shine.
Rated 08 Jul 2012
Rated 16 Sep 2021
2
14th
The Unbearable Boringness of this Movie lol. *reads other mini-reviews* Well shit someone already made that gag. Guess I’ll just say that all this dreary 3 hour slog of tedious affairs and even more tedious political pontificating about shit that happened in the 60s really had going for it was 31 year old Lena Olin’s naked body. *re-reads other mini-reviews* well shit there are no original thoughts left in the world are there
Rated 16 Sep 2021
Rated 25 Mar 2007
90
88th
Read the book, loved it! Saw the movie, loved it! It ain't often that happens.
Rated 25 Mar 2007
Rated 19 May 2007
90
86th
Long and slow, but long and slow in a good way. Meditative, beautiful film
Rated 19 May 2007
Rated 22 Sep 2007
90
65th
An excellent rendition of Milan Kundera's novel with an exquisite cast. It's been a while since I've seen it but I remember it as having been the catalyst to falling in love with Kundera's novels.
Rated 22 Sep 2007
Rated 15 Oct 2007
100
96th
A nocturna classic. Didn't disappoint, despite my having read the book!
Rated 15 Oct 2007
Rated 15 Jan 2010
55
10th
899
Rated 15 Jan 2010
Rated 17 Dec 2011
75
49th
An overly-long soft-core Porno with hints at Philosophical and Political commentary. Takes place in Prague despite very obviously being shot in France and DDL has an annoyingly inconsistent accent. I've heard it's terrible compared to the novel, but I have to admit I still kinda liked it. In the very least, it's erotic and is nowhere near as formulaic and cliched as every almost every other Romance film on the planet. Now if only they could find a way to cut it down by an hour.
Rated 17 Dec 2011
Rated 30 Dec 2009
2
14th
Lots of nudity, but no real lightness of being. Annoying characters...Terrible audio I believe they literally had NO audio post-production. The soundtrack is 50% static sound it seems.
Rated 30 Dec 2009
Rated 04 Sep 2017
20
7th
Rarely a film that is not a complete disaster has annoyed me to this point. It turns to crap anything it touches: politics, love, sex...
Rated 04 Sep 2017
Rated 02 Jan 2010
70
13th
a movie where i didn't like any of the characters
Rated 02 Jan 2010
Rated 22 Aug 2018
79
63rd
two of my favourite actors together and they played perfectly as always (especially Binoche). I did not read the novel but it seems to me overrated apart from its ambience. kundera is angry with the film. perhaps he noticed that because of this film, his novel could be worthless to the audience, as in my example. still it's a classic treasury of cinema.
Rated 22 Aug 2018
Rated 26 May 2020
70
46th
doesn't capture the book, nor does it really try to, but still does its own thing that is really only worth putting up with if you want to see the story you know set to video
Rated 26 May 2020
Rated 20 Jan 2020
74
82nd
I found the last half better than the first, but the ending unnecessary.
Rated 20 Jan 2020
Rated 01 Jan 2021
50
43rd
The brain surgeon, the academic, the photographer, the artist: all seek for truth while their world faces invasion and destruction. Upon the appearance of Sabina, diving before the doctor in the pool he walks past, he sees the chess board falls to the water; there are no rules, there is no truth.
Rated 01 Jan 2021
Rated 05 Jan 2021
80
66th
juliette binoche.. kusursuz
Rated 05 Jan 2021
Rated 10 Oct 2011
66
28th
The Unbearable Overestimated Daniel Day-Lewis.
Rated 10 Oct 2011
Rated 02 Mar 2008
53
24th
# 944
Rated 02 Mar 2008
Rated 23 Jul 2013
15
15th
does not in any way have anything to do with the wonderful (and unique in the author's ouvre) book by Milan Kundera
Rated 23 Jul 2013
Rated 09 Oct 2011
60
35th
Okay I suppose, but I find it incredibly distracting when a film is set in a foreign country and everyone speaks English with an odd accent to signify they're supposed to be not American. Either cast actors native to the country the film's set in and have subtitles or if you insist on casting famous Americans and Brits then just have them use their own accent and be done with it.
Rated 09 Oct 2011
Rated 26 Sep 2011
39
31st
Lena Olin had an amazing body in the 80's, that is the only thing I'm going to remember about this.
Rated 26 Sep 2011
Rated 31 Mar 2021
1
3rd
The unbearable pretensiousness of this mess of a movie. Couldn't continue watching because of how bad this movie is.
Rated 31 Mar 2021
Rated 02 Dec 2011
55
10th
#906
Rated 02 Dec 2011
Rated 19 Dec 2008
54
8th
911
Rated 19 Dec 2008
Rated 04 Apr 2008
80
43rd
Is it possible for an adaptation to be too faithful? I think so. Part of the reason I adore the novel is because of the experience of reading it. Kundera's language is so wonderful, and it's just not something that can translate well to the screen, especially when the director requires you to sit through three hours. However, the film is still good, and the performances are fantastic, especially Lena Olin, who does Sabina complete justice and then some.
Rated 04 Apr 2008
Rated 24 Apr 2008
0
0th
I have always called this one "The Unbearable Longness of Movie." Need I say more?
Rated 24 Apr 2008
Rated 11 Aug 2010
92
88th
Good adaptation of the book (which I've read) and a good film in its own right. Quite mesmerizing and unbearably light. While the adaptation obviously cannot fully capture the deep philosophical discussion contained in the book, it does do a fantastic job as a film of conveying the associated feelings in a way that only images and sound can. There were some aspects, though, like the hat, and the "lightness of being" concept that the film should have done much better with. Read the book first.
Rated 11 Aug 2010
Rated 23 Nov 2008
35
29th
sabina is a pretentious whore, good thing she's hot or she would've totally ruined it for me
Rated 23 Nov 2008
Rated 05 Sep 2012
100
99th
This movie says much more than many others have tried to express when the matter is human being..
Rated 05 Sep 2012
Rated 15 Jan 2011
50
30th
a bad movie from a beautiful novel
Rated 15 Jan 2011
Rated 11 Jan 2012
70
37th
I could watch Danial Day-Lewis and Juilette Binoche act all day. They're both mesmerizing. Binoche has a quality of innocence mixed with sexiness that works perfectly for this character. Day-Lewis plays the perfect "smooth smoothie". But despite how much I enjoyed these two actors, I didn't love the movie. Nothing jumped out at me as being especially insightful or emotional. And often the film went for the cheap, unnecessary tearjerker moment, such as the death of the dog and the final twist.
Rated 11 Jan 2012
Rated 16 Oct 2011
52
8th
It was way too long and the characters were of absolutely no interest to me. The film's undercurrents of politics, freedom and meaning were kind of interesting but not much was done with them. Instead the film focused on a boring complicated romance between unlikable characters. The technical aspects were strong, but they don't make up for the weak core.
Rated 16 Oct 2011
Rated 06 Feb 2011
48
10th
Some day I'll tolerate Daniel Day Lewis. Or maybe not.
Rated 06 Feb 2011
Rated 14 Aug 2007
92
93rd
This is one of the sexiest movies of the 80s. It has an erotic European sensibility that you don't see a lot of now (& you certainly didn't back then). Superb performances from Daniel Day Lewis & Juliette Binoche. Lena Olin is the wild card, however. Her Sabina is such an incredible sex goddess she's an absolute force of nature.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
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