Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

  • 19881988
  • RR
  • 2h 51m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
36K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,949
20
Lena Olin in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
  • Drama
  • Romance
Central Europe, 1968: A Czech doctor with an active sex life meets a woman who wants monogamy, and then the Soviet invasion further disrupts their lives.Central Europe, 1968: A Czech doctor with an active sex life meets a woman who wants monogamy, and then the Soviet invasion further disrupts their lives.Central Europe, 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 RATING
7.3/10
36K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,949
20
  • Director
    • Philip Kaufman
  • Writers
    • Milan Kundera(novel)
    • Jean-Claude Carrière(screenplay)
    • Philip Kaufman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Daniel Day-Lewis
    • Juliette Binoche
    • Lena Olin
Top credits
  • Director
    • Philip Kaufman
  • Writers
    • Milan Kundera(novel)
    • Jean-Claude Carrière(screenplay)
    • Philip Kaufman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Daniel Day-Lewis
    • Juliette Binoche
    • Lena Olin
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 144User reviews
    • 59Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 7 wins & 14 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Unbearable Lightness of Being
    Trailer 2:26
    The Unbearable Lightness of Being

    Photos114

    Daniel Day-Lewis and Lena Olin in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Juliette Binoche and Daniel Day-Lewis in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Lena Olin in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Daniel Day-Lewis and Daniel Olbrychski in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Juliette Binoche in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Daniel Day-Lewis and Lena Olin in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Juliette Binoche and Daniel Day-Lewis in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Juliette Binoche and Daniel Day-Lewis in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Lena Olin in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Daniel Day-Lewis
    Daniel Day-Lewis
    • Tomas
    Juliette Binoche
    Juliette Binoche
    • Tereza
    Lena Olin
    Lena Olin
    • Sabina
    Derek de Lint
    Derek de Lint
    • Franz
    Erland Josephson
    Erland Josephson
    • The Ambassador
    Pavel Landovský
    Pavel Landovský
    • Pavel
    Donald Moffat
    Donald Moffat
    • Chief Surgeon
    Daniel Olbrychski
    Daniel Olbrychski
    • Interior Ministry Official
    Stellan Skarsgård
    Stellan Skarsgård
    • The Engineer
    Tomasz Borkowy
    • Jiri
    • (as Tomek Bork)
    Bruce Myers
    • Czech Editor
    Pavel Slabý
    • Pavel's Nephew
    Pascale Kalensky
    • Nurse Katja
    Jacques Ciron
    • Swiss Restaurant Manager
    Anne Lonnberg
    Anne Lonnberg
    • Swiss Photographer
    László Szabó
    László Szabó
    • Russian Interrogator
    Vladimír Valenta
    • Mayor
    Clovis Cornillac
    Clovis Cornillac
    • Boy in Bar
    • Director
      • Philip Kaufman
    • Writers
      • Milan Kundera(novel)
      • Jean-Claude Carrière(screenplay)
      • Philip Kaufman(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    My Left Foot
    7.9
    My Left Foot
    The Age of Innocence
    7.2
    The Age of Innocence
    The Boxer
    7.0
    The Boxer
    A Room with a View
    7.2
    A Room with a View
    The Crucible
    6.8
    The Crucible
    The Ballad of Jack and Rose
    6.5
    The Ballad of Jack and Rose
    Henry & June
    6.3
    Henry & June
    Damage
    6.7
    Damage
    Dangerous Liaisons
    7.6
    Dangerous Liaisons
    Quills
    7.3
    Quills
    My Beautiful Laundrette
    6.8
    My Beautiful Laundrette
    Nanou
    6.1
    Nanou

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to Lena Olin, she met co-star Daniel Day-Lewis on her first day on the set and, according to the schedule, had to do one of the film's most intense nude love scenes with him that very day.
    • Goofs
      Mephisto the Pig, consistently referred to as "he", is a sow, as can be seen frequently, but particularly when the group enters the inn for dancing.
    • Quotes

      Tereza: I know I'm supposed to help you, but I can't. Instead of being your support I'm your weight. Life is very heavy to me, but it is so light to you. I can't bear this lightness, this freedom... I'm not strong enough.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Shoot to Kill/The Serpent and the Rainbow/She's Having a Baby/The Unbearable Lightness of Being/School Daze (1988)

    User reviews144

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Too uneven and too long - but with great performances
    Although the screenplay is based on the great and world-famous book by Milan Kundera, it was written by others (Jean-Claude Carrière and the director Philip Kaufman) and thus lost its original touch and approach - as was pointed out by Kundera himself who withdrew from the outcome. On the other hand, fragile feelings, ponderings and internal doubts are very difficult to express on the screen - without losing the pace and uniformity of the plot. It is also pity that Prague was not / could not been used, as it is a beautiful city and gives more realism than the French places used. Depicion of the socialist/communist oppression is, however, rather perfunctory, seeming not so serious as it really was in the 1970ies within the Warsaw block when hopes of intellectuals for the so-called human-faced socialism vanished as liberal steps were diminished or repealed.

    The cast is, of course, brilliant, in particular the bohemian ménage à trois members: Daniel Day-Lewis as Tomas, Juliette Binoche as Tereza and Lena Olin as Sabina - all later multiple Academy Award winners and/or nominees, and from different European countries (the movie itself is still the US one). They and some other fine European actors have provided the movie a real European atmosphere, without a Hollywood studio feeling as sometimes perceived in "older" movies.

    Nevertheless, The Unbearable Lightness of Being is still a movie high above average, enhancing historical facts as well. But it is hard to say whether is is recommendable to read the book before or after...
    helpful•5
    1
    • BeneCumb
    • Mar 13, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 5, 1988 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite
      • MGM
    • Languages
      • English
      • Czech
    • Also known as
      • Die unerträgliche Leichtigkeit des Seins
    • Filming locations
      • Prague, Czech Republic
    • Production company
      • The Saul Zaentz Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $17,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $10,006,806
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $202,189
      • Feb 7, 1988
    • Gross worldwide
      • $10,006,806
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 51 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Lena Olin in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    Editors' Picks: What to Watch Now on Netflix
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Hollywood Romances: Our Favorite Couples
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.