A Captivating Movie From a Great Filmmaker
Krzysztof Kieślowski's The Double Life of Véronique (1991) is a mesmerizing drama about a young Frenchwoman named Véronique and her Polish doppelgänger Weronika. Roughly two-thirds of the movie is in French, and the remaining one-third is in Polish. Both Véronique and Weronika are played by Irène Jacob, whose superb performance won her Best Actress at Cannes.
Kieślowski, who died in 1996 at age 54, was one of the great filmmakers of the late 20th century. His oeuvre includes The Decalogue (1988-89) and the Three Colors trilogy (1993-94). In terms of look, sound, feel and themes, The Double Life of Véronique is a precursor to the trilogy, the third movie of which also stars Irène Jacob as lead actress.
The Double Life of Véronique takes place in 1990 Europe, the first half hour in Poland, the remaining hour in France. There's interesting location shooting in Kraków and in Clermont-Ferrand, a city about three hours from Paris, as well as at one of the French capital's major train stations, Gare Saint-Lazare. The film has a topnotch musical score composed by Zbigniew Preisner.
A Frenchwoman and Her Polish Double
The movie is mostly about Véronique, an unmarried, childless Frenchwoman of about 24 who lives in Clermont-Ferrand. Much of the story concerns her meeting and becoming romantically attracted to Alexandre, a puppeteer and author. But the relationship between Véronique and Alexandre is problematic.
However, the first third of the film centers around Weronika, a Polish woman who is Véronique's doppelgänger. Weronika is a talented singer and pursues an opportunity to perform at a concert even though her physical health is questionable.
All that Véronique and Weronika ever know about each other comes from a single, brief chance encounter. Weronika is walking along in Kraków when in the distance she happens to spot Véronique, who is part of a sightseeing group hurrying aboard a tour bus. Then from inside the motor coach, Véronique snaps a photo of Weronika, and the vehicle drives away. But the film uses visual linkages and Preisner's music to suggest that there is some sort of mystical connection between these two women.
One of the All-Time Best Audio Commentaries
The Criterion Collection DVD set containing The Double Life of Véronique provides an outstanding feature-length English-language audio commentary by Columbia University professor Annette Insdorf, film scholar and author of the excellent book Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieślowski. Not only can she supply insights gained through academic research, she knew Kieślowski personally, having served as his translator throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
Dr. Insdorf puts the film in the context of Kieślowski's body of work, and she helps us interpret what we're seeing in this enigmatic movie. I was also grateful that she points out some of the unanswered questions posed by the film. She characterizes the movie as a "blend of visual poetry and metaphysical concerns" and advises that "the best way to move through this motion picture is not analytically, but intuitively."
U.S. Ending, Making-Of Documentary, Interviews
Kieślowski added a minute or so to the ending of The Double Life of Véronique for its U.S. release, and you can watch this on the DVD. The alternate ending was done at the urging of Harvey Weinstein, then head of Miramax, the film's American distributor. Comparing the two endings makes for an interesting case study in the tradeoff between accessibility and subtlety.
The DVD contains the 52-minute "Kieślowski—Dialogue," which is basically a making-of documentary for The Double Life of Véronique. An interview of Kieślowski is intercut with behind-the-scenes footage of the movie being made. The documentary is revealing about what kind of a man Kieślowski was and how he went about making the movie. At one point he says, "The main theme of this film is 'live more carefully.' Because you don't know what the consequences of your actions may be."
Also on the DVD are three video interviews: 24 minutes with cinematographer Sławomir Idziak, 21 minutes with composer Zbigniew Preisner and 18 minutes with lead actress Irène Jacob.
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