Milan Kundera, Author of ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being,’ Dies at 94
thewrap.comFrench publishing house Gallimard.“Unbearable Lightness,” about a philandering Czech surgeon who regularly cheats on his wife with a carefree artist, was a global hit reprinted in dozens of languages.
Its political undertones mirrored Kundera’s own experiences during the 1968 Prague Spring, the setting for the novel, which was crushed by Soviet invaders and sent him to exile in France in 1975.“Lightness” was adapted for the screen by Philip Kaufman in 1988, and starred Day-Lewis as Tomas, who becomes a window washer after his political views get him expelled from his profession.
Binoche played his wife, while Lena Olin portrayed the seductive painter whom he regularly meets for sex.The film was nominated for two Oscars, including adapted screenplay and cinematography.
Kaufman won a BAFTA for his adaptation.None of Kundera’s other works ever rose to the towering success of “Lightness,” though several were adapted for film and TV in the Czech Republic.
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