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The Unbearable Lightness of Being ()

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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.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
  • Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 12 nominations.
  • See more »
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115 photos

Complete, Cast awaiting verification

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Tomas
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Tereza
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Sabina
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Franz
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The Ambassador
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Pavel (as Pavel Landovsky)
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Chief Surgeon
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Interior Ministry Official
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The Engineer (as Stellan Skarsgard)
Tomasz Borkowy ...
Jiri (as Tomek Bork)
Bruce Myers ...
Czech Editor
Pavel Slabý ...
Pavel's Nephew (as Pavel Slaby)
Pascale Kalensky ...
Nurse Katya
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Swiss Restaurant Manager
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Swiss Photographer
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Russian Interrogator (as Laszlo Szabo)
Vladimír Valenta ...
Mayor
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Boy in Bar
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Bald Man in Bar
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Tall Brunette (as Consuelo de Haviland)
Jacqueline Abraham-Vernier
Judith Atwell
Claudine Berg
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(as Jean-Claude Bouillion)
Miroslaw Beuer ...
(as Miroslav Breuer)
Niven Busch
Margot Capelier
Victor Chelkoff
Monica Constandache
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Swiss editor
Dominique De Moncutt ...
(as Dominique de Moncuit)
Bernard Lepinaux
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(as Josiane Leveque)
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Lecturer in Geneva
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(as Gerard Moulevrier)
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Cameraman filming the tanks in Prague
Charly Oleg
Sylvie Plantard
Olga Baïdar-Poliakoff ...
(as Olga Baidar Poliakoff)
Christine Potter ...
(as Christine Pottier)
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(as Hana-Maria Pravda)
Romano
André Sanfratello ...
(as Andre Sanfratello)
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(as Jirí Stanislav)
Milos Szoboda ...
(as Milos Svoboda)
Helenka Vernier ...
(as Helenka Verner)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Serge Delanoue ...
Danseur (uncredited)
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Man walking on street outside Sabina's flat (uncredited)
Isabelle Noérie ...
Student (uncredited)

Directed by

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Philip Kaufman

Written by

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Milan Kundera ... (novel)
 
Jean-Claude Carrière ... (screenplay) &
Philip Kaufman ... (screenplay)

Produced by

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Bertil Ohlsson ... executive producer
Paul Zaentz ... associate producer
Saul Zaentz ... producer

Music by

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Mark Adler

Cinematography by

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Sven Nykvist

Editing by

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Vivien Hillgrove
Michael Magill
Walter Murch
B.J. Sears ... co-editor

Editorial Department

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Donah Bassett ... negative cutter
Jack Garsha ... color timer
Robert Grahamjones ... assistant editor

Production Design by

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Pierre Guffroy

Costume Design by

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Ann Roth

Makeup Department

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Suzanne Benoit ... key makeup artist
Rosalina Da Silva ... makeup artist: Lena Olin
Paul Le Blanc ... key hair stylist

Production Management

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Daniel Baschieri ... assistant unit manager
Nancy Eichler ... Assistant to Saul Zaentz
Frank Simeone ... unit production manager: USA unit
Daniel Szuster ... production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Eric Bartonio ... additional first assistant director
Simon Brook ... third assistant director
Pascal Fouineau ... trainee assistant director
Robert Kechichian ... second assistant director
Charles Paviot ... first assistant director

Art Department

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Jean-Michel Ducourty ... second assistant art director
René Loubet ... key constructor
Michael G. Ploog ... storyboard artist
Jean-Yves Rabier ... carpenter

Sound Department

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Agamemnon Andrianos ... production sound mixer: additional photography
James Austin ... staff: The Saul Zaentz Film Center
David Franklin Bergad ... sound editor
Mark Berger ... supervising re-recording mixer
Jean-Marie Blondel ... sound assistant
Todd Boekelheide ... re-recording mixer
Christopher Boyes ... staff: The Saul Zaentz Film Center
Luis Colina ... sound effects editor
Gloria D'Alessandro ... assistant dialog editor
Ernie Fosselius ... foley editor
Ruth Hasty ... apprentice sound editor
Richard Hymns ... sound effects editor
Pat Jackson ... sound effects editor
Ann Kroeber ... sound effects
Barbara McBane ... dialogue editor
Christopher Newman ... production sound mixer
David Parker ... re-recording mixer
Diana Pellegrini ... sound editor
Philip Rogers ... sound recordist
Karen Spangenberg ... dialog editor
Alan Splet ... sound designer
Dianna Stirpe ... sound apprentice
Ewa Sztompke ... sound effects assistant
Gwendolyn Yates Whittle ... assistant dialogue editor

Special Effects by

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Jozef Ort-Snep ... trick photography

Stunts

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Rémy Julienne ... stunt coordinator (as Remy Julienne)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Phil Bray ... still photographer
Richard Brodet ... best boy electric
Philippe Houdart ... camera operator
Bernard Noisette ... camera operator
George Michael Pantages ... gaffer: US production crew (as Michael Pantages)

Casting Department

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Marie-Sylvie Caillierez ... extras casting
Margot Capelier ... casting: french production crew
Patricia de Oliveira ... casting: US production crew
Sarah C. Koeppe ... casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Donna Maloney ... wardrobe

Location Management

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Patrick Boshart ... location scout
Jacques Frederix ... location manager

Music Department

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Mark Adler ... music arranger
Ernie Fosselius ... music arranger: Gevena production crew
Leos Janácek ... music: selected works from
Alan Splet ... music selection: Janacek's works
Jay Stebley ... music consultant
Jeffery Stephens ... assistant music editor

Additional Crew

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Kent Brown ... production assistant
Dennis Davidson ... publicity campaign
Peter Kaufman ... assistant to the director
Walter Slater Murch ... production assistant
Adele Sanders ... production accountant
Susan Lee Smith ... publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Tomas is a doctor and a lady-killer in 1960s Czechoslovakia, an apolitical man who is struck with love for the bookish country girl Tereza; his more sophisticated sometime lover Sabina eventually accepts their relationship and the two women form an electric friendship. The three are caught up in the events of the Prague Spring (1968), until the Soviet tanks crush the non-violent rebels; their illusions are shattered and their lives change forever. Written by Dan Hartung

Plot Keywords
Taglines A Lovers Story. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • L'insoutenable légèreté de l'être (France)
  • Die unerträgliche Leichtigkeit des Seins (Germany)
  • La insoportable levedad del ser (Spain)
  • Невыносимая лёгкость бытия (Russia)
  • La insoportable levedad del ser (Argentina)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 171 min
Official Sites
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $17,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend United States $202,189, 05 Feb 1988

Did You Know?

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Trivia The first cut shown to the studio was under two hours in length and the story was confusing. Philip Kaufman was asked to add in scenes he cut. The next day they were shown the theatrically released version. It's believed Kaufman showed them a shorter and confusing version in order to get his almost three-hour final cut approved with no questions of cutting it. See more »
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. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in Shoot to Kill/The Serpent and the Rainbow/She's Having a Baby/The Unbearable Lightness of Being/School Daze (1988). See more »
Soundtracks "String Quartet N°1 (Kreutzer Sonata) See more »
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.
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