The Double Life of Veronique
Composite Score: 81.9
Starring: Irène Jacob, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Halina Gryglaszewska, Kalina Jedrusik, Jerzy Gudejko, Philippe Volter, and Sandrine Dumas
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writers: Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Music, Romance, Mystery
MPAA Rating: R for scenes of sexuality
Box Office: $2.18 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
The Double Life of Véronique is Kieslowski’s film about two identical women living strikingly similar but unrelated lives in Poland and France. It is a beautiful film featuring a gorgeous color palette, a strong leading performance from Irène Jacob, and a mysteriously touching story about dreams and love. The film was the first of Kieslowski’s French films, before the Three Colours trilogy, and it features action in both French and his native Polish, giving it a truly European feel. It is a film about feeling and connection more than anything else, and in those respects, it succeeds thoroughly.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Beyond the intriguing story pieces that make it, the film offers very little in terms of deeper themes. It is a film that makes you feel, yes, but what it makes you feel is highly subjective, and it doesn’t seem to have any real agenda. Perhaps such simple filmmaking should be refreshing, but as an art film, it feels like The Double Life of Véronique should have more to offer than just catharsis or realization or love or even mourning. Maybe I’m asking too much, but I personally wish that there was more to take away from it than just the reminder that we are all connected here in this big world, often in ways we may never realize.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Irène Jacob’s performances as both Weronika and Véronique are equally talented and moving. Her ability to convey emotion in expression shines through from the film’s first scene to its last as she moves through love, trepidation, joy, fear, grief, curiosity, catharsis, and satisfaction at the different events in her life. Her performance combined with the gorgeous cinematographic color choices help bring home the deeply emotional connection in this film. The way that she stands out from each backdrop is a testament to both her charisma and the skill of cinematographer Slawomir Idziak. By making her lives the entire focus of the film and of the camera, her emotion and her experience become the emotion and experience of the members of the audience, creating that response that the film so famously elicits.
Strong emotional ties crafted through skillful cinematography and acting, and a unique story make The Double Life of Véronique one of the Greatest Films of All Time. A lack of deeper meaning is overcome by feeling and quality acting, although such a drawback does keep it from rising higher on this list to join Kieslowski’s later French films. If you get the opportunity any time soon, the film is a deeply moving piece that should be enjoyed by most cinephiles.
