READ THIS FIRST: This is a 12-inch Diameter Laserdisc, which is NOT the same as DVD and cannot be played on a DVD player!

Laserdisc Title: "THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING"
Edition: Fullscreen Edition (Double-Disc Set)
Directed By: Philip Kauffman
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Derek deLint
Production / Year: 1988 The Saul Zaent Company
Running Time: 172 Minutes / Color
Audio Format: Digital Sound, Surround Sound, Stereo, CX Encoded
Video Format: NTSC, CLV (Extended Play)
Miscellaneous Features: Rated R, Closed Captioned
Distributed By: Image Entertainment
Catalog / Spine Number: ID6257OR

Cosmetic Condition:
Disc (s): Excellent - Hardly noticeable to very minor hairline surface swirls, if any
Jacket: Excellent - Original outer plastic shrink wrap still partially intact

Synopsis:
Perhaps the most amazing thing about this film is that an American directed it. It feels so European, and not faux-European--it needs to be done this way. Or perhaps it's really not so surprising, on second thought. I've long observed how European or Europe-born directors make the best American films (Louis Malle with Atlantic City, Roman Polanski with Chinatown, even Paul Mazursky with Moscow on the Hudson), so why not the reverse? Most of all this is a movie that realizes you don't have to have a linear plot to create great film--on the contrary, film embraces such nonlinear story-telling. At the same time, Kaufman never feels compelled to venture into surrealism or symbolism. (He did consider it for the ending, as he reveals on the commentary track.) For some reason all this, and a genuine ignorance of Czech culture and history, has made this film a little tough for many American critics and viewers to swallow. They give it polite, superficial praise, but reading between the lines we get the feeling some of them are saying "What's it *really* about, beyond great sex?" Both Daniel Day Lewis and Lena Olin are excellent, and of course Olin's performance has received much attention and commentary because of her high-octane sex scenes (though comparisons to Last Tango seem wrong to me; LT was very cynical in is treatment of male-female relationships, whereas what makes this film work so well is the fact that it's rather innocent in that way). But the real standout--one of the greatest performances I've ever seen on a movie screen--belongs to Juliette Binoche. Her Tereza is attractive but gawky, poised by awkward, shy yet take-charge when it's needed. She is meek around Tomas yet grabs her camera and runs fearlessly into danger when the Russians invade. Binoche's performance is so astonishing we can reconcile these contradictions and in fact don't even question them. That she was never Oscar-nominated is astonishing. (This film received a grand total of two nominations and no awards--proof, if it was needed, that the Academy is retarded, considering such second-rate films as The Accidental Tourist and Rain Man took home big trophies.)

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