The Double Life of Véronique (1991)

• Year: 1991
• Released: 22 Nov 1991
• Country: France, Poland, Norway
• Adwords: 11 wins & 13 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101765/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_double_life_of_veronique
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-double-life-of-veronique
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: French, Polish, Italian
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Music
• Runtime: 98 min
• Writer: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
• Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
• Cast: Irène Jacob, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Halina Gryglaszewska
• Keywords: doppelgänger, fake identity, puppet, poland, music teacher,

	7.7/10
	86/100

The Double Life of Véronique Storyline

Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer. Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal, and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. Both women contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues. Véronique and Weronika are unaware of each other’s existence, yet they sense a spectral companion and an inexplicable, profound bond.

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The Double Life of Véronique Movie Reviews

Beautiful, but somewhat unaffecting

Much of this is an adoration of French actress Iréne Jacob by Director Krzysztof Kieslowski; in a sense it is a homage to her, one of the most beautiful actresses of our time and one of the most talented. If you’ve never seen her, this is an excellent place to begin. She has an earnest, open quality about her that is innocent and sophisticated at the same time so that everything a man might want in a young woman is realized in her. Part of her power comes from Kieslowski himself who has taught her how she should act to captivate. He has made her like a little girl fully grown, yet uncorrupted, natural, generous, kind, without pretension, unaffected. She is a dream, and she plays the dream so well.

The movie itself is very pretty, but somewhat unaffecting with only the slightest touch of blue (when the puppeteer appears by the curtain, the curtain is blue, and we know he is the one, since she is always red). The music by Zbignew Preisner is beautiful and lifts our spirits, highlighted by the soprano voice of Elzbieta Towarnicka. But the main point is Iréne Jacob, whom the camera seldom leaves. We see her from every angle, in various stages of dress and undress, and she is beautiful from head to toe. And we see her as she is filled with the joy of herself and her talent, with the wonder of discovery and the wonder of life, with desire, and with love.

Obviously this is not a movie for the action/adventure crowd. Everything is subtle and refined with only a gross touch or two (and no gore, thank you) to remind us of the world out there. Véronique accepts the little crudities of life with a generous spirit, the flasher, the two a.m. call, her prospective lover blowing his nose in front of her… She loves her father and old people. She is a teacher of children. She climaxes easily and fully. To some no doubt she is a little too good to be true. And she is, and that is Kieslowski’s point: she is a dream. And such a beautiful dream.

An actress playing the character twice in a slightly different way has occurred in at least two other films in the nineties: there was Patricia Arquette in David Lynch’s Lost Highway (1997) and Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors (1998). It’s an appealing venture for an actress of course and when the actress is as talented as these three are, for the audience as well.

Note that as Weronika/Véronique is in two worlds, Poland and France, so too has always been Kieslowski himself in his real life. It is interesting how he fuses himself with his star. This film is his way of making love to her.

Kieslowski died in 1996 not long after finishing his celebrated trilogy, Trois Couleurs: Bleu (1993); Rouge (1994) and Bialy (White) (1994). We could use another like him.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book “Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can’t Believe I Swallowed the Remote!” Get it at Amazon!)

Beautiful/Complex – An Interesting mixture

The above statement works not only as an honest description of the film, but also of the character (or characters) portrayed by Irène Jacob. The Double life of Véronique is not a film that allows easy description, it doesn’t seem to fit in to any genre or category, it is a film that must be experienced under it’s own terms, as a serious, hypnotic work of art. Director Kieslowski sets up the odd dreamlike atmosphere right from the start, using mirror reflections and odd camera distortions to show us the bizarre way that Veronique/Veronika sees the world around her. The use of sepia printing also gives the film an odd distilled look, taking us right out of any “real” reality, giving each of the frames something special. The problem this creates is that it takes away any real connection we have with the characters, we never really feel anything for them or are even that concerned for their outcomes, Kieslowski moves his actors around his “stage” in the same way the marionettes are manipulated in the film, but the film works on such a subtly hypnotic level I don’t think that Kieslowski ever wanted us to feel part of this world. Kieslowski follows Veronique/Veronika through Paris and Poland, intimately probing her with close, hand-held camera, the cinema-verite effect of this making the viewer feel almost like a voyeur, following the women’s every movements and encounters. The Double Life of Veronique is a film that definitely deserves to be seen and requires multiple viewings if we are to get everything out of it’s complex, pre-destined narrative. A film full of beautiful images and haunting moods that you’ll remember long after, if only there had been a little more focus on the characters I would certainly give it a 10. Maybe my next viewing will lift its marks. 8/10

an okay movie

This film was moderately interesting and had a very haunting musical score. It concerns two women who are not related but are identical twins–complete with some sort of inexplicable psychic connection. That unexplained connection along with a relatively dull story line resulted in my being rather disengaged from the film. Stylistically speaking it is a lovely film, as were the director’s trio of films Blue, White and Red–which I much prefer. Their stories also feature similar music, excellent cinematography and are VERY unusual films but they just kept me more interested and their stories just seemed better developed and less silly. To me, this is an interesting film but a bit of a misfire.