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Movie
Poster for The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

1988 · 171 min

A sweeping, sensual meditation on love and freedom, blending political upheaval with intimate emotional turmoil.

Tagline
A lovers’ story.
Overview
Successful surgeon Tomas leaves Prague for an operation, meets a young photographer named Tereza, and brings her back with him. Tereza is surprised to learn that Tomas is already having an affair with the bohemian Sabina, but when the Soviet invasion occurs, all three flee to Switzerland. Sabina begins an affair, Tom continues womanizing, and Tereza, disgusted, returns to Czechoslovakia. Realizing his mistake, Tomas decides to chase after her.

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Buy in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
  • Sky Store
  • YouTube
More options Data from JustWatch
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • love
  • freedom
  • identity
  • betrayal
  • politics
Places
  • big city
  • countryside
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex strong
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror1
Humour3
Realism8
Romance8
Tension4
Darkness5
Complexity7
Emotional weight8

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Where to watch in the UK

Buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Sky Store
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, romance
Directed by
Philip Kaufman
Written by
Philip Kaufman, Jean-Claude Carrière
Starring
Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Derek de Lint, Stellan Skarsgård, Erland Josephson, Pavel Landovský, Donald Moffat
Music
Mark Adler
Cinematography
Sven Nykvist
Runtime
171 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
Czech, English

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