(Lightness, Unbearable)

I don't remember why I went to see The Unbearable Lightness of Being at the theater way back in 1988 when it came out. I didn't know Daniel Day-Lewis then; though I had seen him in A Room With a View, I didn't remember him at all. And Lena Olin didn't become the love of my life until after I'd seen her in this movie. And I didn't read the book until after I'd seen the movie . . . which is why the ending of the movie really hit me hard. 

Hmmm.

Ah . . . poking around on IMDb suggests an answer: I saw The Right Stuff when it came out in 1983, and it instantly became one of my favorite movies. And I'm the kind of person who really likes reading the fine print, so I knew that it was directed by Philip Kaufman. And I'm pretty sure I started looking for his mark after that. Further corroboration of this theory is supported by the fact that I also saw Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) on video --the film Kaufman directed prior to The Right Stuff--and that I saw Henry and June (1990), Rising Sun (1993), and Quills (2000)--the three films that Kaufman directed after The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Yep. 

(I also conflated the title of his film The Wanderers with Walter Hill's The Warriors and watched the latter. I remember being very confused. How could Kaufman have directed this silly gang fight film? I was relieved when I found out that he hadn't.) 

I remember seeing it in the theater with Jo Ann the first time, and then going back to see it again by myself. And I can't begin to tell you how many times I've seen it on dvd since then. But when I thought about it today and went looking for it on Amazon Instant Video, I found out that I could rent it for $2.99 . . . or buy it for $5.99. So I bought it. Started watching it right away and was instantly captivated. I don't like womanizers, but Daniel Day-Lewis does such a great job as Tomas that I don't hate the character. And his interactions with Teresa (played by Juliette Binoche, who is not only beautiful, but also one of the cutest human beings ever to walk this earth) are so sweet, seem so real. That scene where she accuses him of being jealous, for instance. And Lena Olin as Sabine . . . THE most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.

And in addition to the story of three lovers, you also have the story of political upheaval surrounding The Prague Spring, with some remarkable documentary footage mixed in with black and white footage of Tomas and Tereza.

It's just a remarkable movie. It also led me to read most of Milan Kundera's books, and that is an experience not to be missed. 

I looked at Wikipedia to make sure I had my facts and spellings straight, and was astonished to see that this film's budget was $17 million, but it's box office was only a little over $10 million. How can that be? Further proof that I do not understand this world at all.