The Unbearable Lightness of the Revolution

Tomáš, a talented surgeon in late 1960s Prague, lives by a creed of lightness that lets him drift between romance and emotional distance. He indulges in multiple affairs and keeps a careful separation from his past, including his ex-wife and their young son Šimon. This stance shapes his unpredictable personal life as the narrative unfolds.

Tereza, a café waitress from a provincial town, crosses paths with Tomáš and is drawn to his intellect and dreamer’s spirit. She follows him to Prague and places her fate in his hands, even as he continues to flirt with other women. Their meeting marks the beginning of a relationship that will test both of them.

The couple moves in together, and Tereza discovers Tomáš’s ongoing affairs. He initially hides the infidelity, then confesses it, arguing that his flirtations do not undermine his devotion to her. Tereza wrestles with the unsettling idea that love and sexual desire can coexist.

Prague experiences the Prague Spring, a brief liberal surge that is crushed by a Soviet invasion in 1968. A past essay criticizing the regime surfaces and lands Tomáš in trouble, prompting authorities to urge him to flee. The political climate tightens around his personal freedom and career.

In 1969, to safeguard Tereza’s happiness, Tomáš marries her, though he does not give up his other lovers. The arrangement keeps peace for a time but leaves a persistent tension beneath the surface. The couple begins a life marked by secrecy and conflicted fidelity.

Sabina, a bold painter, arrives as Tomáš’s closest confidante, bringing wit and sexual energy into the orbit of their relationship. Her presence deepens the rift with Tereza even as she helps Tereza launch a photography career in Prague. Tomáš’s attachment to Sabina tests the limits of his marriage.

By 1970 Sabina departs for the West, and Tomáš and Tereza eventually join her in Zurich, seeking new possibilities away from Prague. The move signals a turning point as the trio negotiates love, freedom, and belonging. The air of possibility contrasts with the undercurrents of jealousy and longing.

In Zurich, Tereza’s sense of purpose wanes without photography, and she decides to return to Czechoslovakia a year later, with Tomáš following to preserve their relationship. The move tests their bond as exile and personal longing pull them in different directions. The couple’s attempt at a fresh start is strained by old loyalties.

Back in Prague in 1972, Tomáš’s political dissent costs him his surgical career after he refuses to sign a retracting statement. Both the state and dissidents seek to recruit him, but he resists being used by either side. His stubborn independence underscores the tension between personal conscience and political pressure.

Šimon, Tomáš’s estranged son, is now politically active and challenges his father with his own idealism. The encounter highlights the growing distance between generations and the ways in which political beliefs shape personal bonds. Tomáš remains emotionally distant, caught between worlds.

In 1973, Tereza, now behind a bar, begins an affair with a visiting engineer as a bittersweet imitation of Tomáš’s detachment. She becomes unsettled, convinced the man was spying on her. After bearing this strain, she persuades Tomáš to retreat to a rural village seeking peace.

The countryside offers a fragile peace for a time, but their life is cut short when Tomáš and Tereza die together in a car accident the following year. The tragedy closes a chapter on their intertwined, unsettled lives and invites reflection on lightness and consequence.

In Geneva in 1971, Sabina begins a relationship with Franz, a married academic whose ideals echo Tereza’s longing. Franz admires Sabina, yet wrestles with betraying his wife. The liaison expands Sabina’s restless wanderings into another corner of Europe.

A year later, Franz leaves his wife to be with Sabina, who then vanishes again—traveling first to Paris, then to the United States. The pattern of sabbatical wanderings and tentative loves continues to define Sabina’s fate. Her ongoing absence deepens the sense of detachment that threads through the story.

In 1975 Franz remains separated from his wife and begins seeing a young student who adores him, clinging to a memory of Sabina. He dies believing she would have approved of his choices, and his wife arranges his burial with the inscription 'A return after long wanderings.' The line between devotion and wandering life remains a melancholy refrain.