Dec. 12, 2002 - 6:14 pm
i really can't remember when i first heard about this film. i think it's always been referenced in a very faint way, so there's not one solid occurrence in my mind. i know i learned at some point over the past couple of years that Juliette Binoche was in the film, but other than that i was basically drawing a blank on this film. well, anyway, i obviously chose to see if for some reason or another, even if it's not a very concrete one.
really amazing performances in this film. i'm surprised no one won an Oscar for this or was even nominated. this movie makes me realize how completely awesome Daniel Day-Lewis is as an actor. i guess i hadn't really thought about it before, but yeah, that's the case. he's good. there's no doubting it. and his characters that he plays are always quite different. Lena Olin's character in this film rather disgusted me in a rather inexplicable way. i mean i think you're supposed to like her, but i guess i just don't find her that attractive, so i felt disgusted at some parts. but her acting was outstanding. and then i've talked about Juliette Binoche to no end. i think i've already made the case that she's amazing in just about every way available to humans.
whenever you see or hear someone talking about this movie they're always going to mention how "sexual" and "sensual" it is. well, yeah i guess so. i'm really not that big on seeing that sort of thing in the movies. that's not what i'm there for. yeah, i guess it's pretty racy at parts. i'd have to say that i'm glad i watched this by myself. i think i would've felt somewhat uncomfortable watching it with a group of people. so i guess i don't have an opinion on that part of the film. the sex in the film is not unwarranted though. it is always teaching you something about the main characters and is never unnecessary. so i guess it was at least useful for the plot if nothing else.
so what else happens in this movie you say? well the main character is Tomas, a Czech brain surgeon in the 1960s who is an amazing womanizer. he doesn't have to do much more than look at a woman to get her into bed. then he meets Tereza who seems to instantly be in love with him and who he can't seem to push away from him. their lives together take them back and forth between countries and even through the Russian occupation of Prague. it's a movie where the characters seem to develop and change a lot, but they're still sort of the same at the end, and the scenery of the film changes a lot as well (seemingly with the moods of the main characters).
definitely an interesting film and worth watching. but like i said, if you're not overly forward like me, you might consider watching it alone.