READ THE BOOK!
It is remarkable. I feel disgusted by the movie user reviews. My stomach hurts.
shareI did.
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All that we see or seem. Is it but a dream within a dream?
MovieChat Forums > The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) Discussion > READ THE BOOK!
I did as well, and it is one of the best I've ever read. NO adaptation will ever measure the genius of Milan Kundera, but Philip Kaufman's vision came pretty close to justice.
Did he train you? Did he rehearse you? Did he tell you *exactly* what to do, what to say?!
I agree, It's one of the best I've read too. I think no movie can ever hope to adapt a book without loosing some expressive power. It's always more of a question if it can somehow carry out the right idea and make up for the lost content by adding great visuals and sound.
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All that we see or seem. Is it but a dream within a dream?
I was gravely disappointed by this adaptation. It was exceptionally weak in communicating the ideas in the novel (the destructive effects of life under a totalitarian regime, the conformity, self-interest, fear-driven failure to question, and survive-at-any-cost behavior that such autocracy breeds.) The only thing I admire about it is its ability to recreate the look of Prague just prior to and during the Soviet invasion and its incorporation of actual documentary footage.
In the novel, the plot and characters are connected to themes of weight and lightness, as symbolized by a series of opposites: wife and mistress, commitment and independence, home and expatriation, loyalty and betrayal, tenderness and violence, and intimacy and sex. By contrast, the film lacks thematic purpose, concentrating instead on the story of the characters: their sexuality, jealousies and perturbations.
I might have been disappointed if I had read the book first, but I didn't. I saw the movie first, and just loved it. Then, a few years later I read the book, which I absolutely adored. It took the story to a whole other philosophical level. It did not diminish my love of the movie, but I do see some of the characters' actions in a different light, having read the novel.
The book deserves to held up as a true classic.
How does the novel differ? I'd be interested in investigating it, if it was able to aptly compliment the film.
Last film seen: The Unbearable Lightness of Being 8/10
the movie is very near to the book.
The Movie is almost 3 hours long, but the book relative short with under 300 pages.
So almost every aspect of the book has its place in this long movie.
The main differnce is the erotic aspect:
The erotic sequences take a huge part in the movie but in the novel they have only a few lines.
I couldn't agree more.. books are usually much better than their adaptations... The Unbearable Lightness of Being is no exception....is one of the best books I´ve ever read
I tried to read the book and could not get past page 197....
I had to read this book as a part of a class assignment. The class "History of Literature in Films" also had us watch the movie after reading the book. 3 hours 2 disc and I am bored... I find the storyline is too soft. If you have to keep turning the volume up and down to hear the dialog, and then you have to decipher the plot between the nudity, then something is wrong with this picture.
I read the first few pages of it a few years ago (before seeing of hearing about the movie) and, being the bookworm that I am, I have to admit it's one of the only books I've ever stopped reading after the first few pages...I couldn't see what anyone could see in it...I still don't get it. Most masterpieces (like Lolita, To Kill a Mockingbird...all those cult classics) I really like and I can see what makes them genius...but with Kundera I can't see it. Why? Could anyone try to explain to me what makes Kundera so great? And I know I should read it all before judging...but all the great works I've read so far had me hooked nearly instantly.
shareOh, you are so right, chelsea 104! It is remarkable. So real, yet ethereal. Many of us agree with you. Don't despair!!
Cheers, chloeinwonderland