THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING

Philip Kaufman’s sweeping, unforgettable adaptation of Milan Kunde- ra’s classic novel, once thought to be unfilmable, finds Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, and Lena Olin at the height of their talents in an erotic and complex love triangle that spans years and countries. In the halcyon days leading up to the Soviet invasion of Prague in 1968, apolitical, skirt-chasing surgeon Tomas (Day-Lewis) enjoys a life free of the weight of emotional entanglements, particularly with his like-minded painter mistress Sabine (Olin). But when he meets shy waitress Tereza (Binoche), he decides to give “traditional marriage” a try before the three individuals get swept up in the Prague Spring. Grand in its scope and intimate in its detail (aided in no small part by Sven Nykvist’s masterful cinematography), The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which Kaufman (The Right Stuff) adapted with Jean-Claude Carrière (Belle de jour), is presented in a brand new, glorious 4K restoration by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation. US 1988, 171 min Director Philip Kaufman