Product: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2006)
Rating: 5.0
unbearable lightness - frivolity in the face of revolution
I feel i should write something because the previous review is very misleading and spiteful. I always find it bizarre when people write a review of a film and say "nothing much happened". Well, did you watch the film? A lot happened! The Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia for one thing! The previous reviewer calls the movie self-important. It is no more self-important than the review you wrote, sir. And if it is, I think that tends to happen naturally when a conglomeration of hugely talented filmmakers tackle epic material; it is gorgeously lensed by the greatest cinematographer of all time Sven Nykvist, the performances are peerless, the script is utterly compelling at all times, and the direction proved Kaufman to be a master. I don't find the film pretentious because i found the story so involving. I was watching characters not dry literary symbols. I personally believe something is pretentious only if you dont understand it. As for the cactus being a phallic symbol, it looks a phallus, so what? Whats your point? As for the title, my mother, who is Slavic and was living in Poland during the 1968 invasion, agrees that Teresa explains it best in the film: she can't bear to be light and frivolous while her people are being oppressed. I have seen few films that display the heart and warmth of this one. It is just as timely and compelling today as it was twelve years ago. The Criterion DVD has beautiful high resolution imagery and a great Janacek soundtrack. The commentary track is also enlightening to hear, as several key people involved in making the film speak candidly about what they were doing.