Product: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2006)
Rating: 5.0
A Glimpse into a World Long Past
It's difficult not to be nostalgic now about The Unbearable Lightness of Being. This was a world in which the Soviet Union was a fact of life for hundreds of millions of people and a particular kind of culture and way of life existed. In a strange way it's initially an optimistic kind of world, and that's appropriate for what is essentially an optimistic view of human nature and love. Other reviewers have covered the jist of the tale so I won't recount it here. Suffice it to say that the young Daniel Day-Lewis is excellent as the sexually magnetic Tomas; equally important is the fact that the cinamatography is outstanding.The movie pivots around departures: first the departure of Tomas and his circle for Geneva after the Prague Spring is crushed by Russian soliders; then the departure from Geneva back to Prague that is precipitated by Teresa's loss of hope regarding her marriage. The sub-plot departure of Sabina presages the main plot departure of Teresa and both are synchronous. It's a truism that women leave, almost heedless of the wreck they cause by their departures, and the story is true to life in this regard. When Tomas follows Teresa back to Prague the movie grows dark and claustrophobic - the CCCP has imposed its iron rule and the color has gone out of the world. Little details like the removal of passports, Tomas' colleagues with their too-ready acceptance of compromises and betrayals... these small notes add layer upon layer of atmosphere, just as the small light notes of the beginning of the movie lent warmth and optimism.For someone viewing this in 2011 - especially if you've been to former Soviet Union countries - it's like stepping back in time to a world lost long ago. It wasn't a good world, but in this vignette it's intense and poignant and makes for an irresistible movie. It's heart-rending and worth every moment. Usually adaptations of books are inferior but in this case I venture the opinion that the movie is a better artistic creation than the book from which it is taken.