The Double Life of Veronique [VHS]

The Double Life of Veronique [VHS]
by Krzysztof Kieslowski

The Double Life of Veronique [VHS]

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Actor: Aleksander Bardini, Halina Gryglaszewska, Ir?ne Jacob, Kalina Jedrusik, Wladyslaw Kowalski
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Cinematographer: Slawomir Idziak
Writer: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Editor: Jacques Witta
Producer: Bernard-P. Guiremand
Producer: Leonardo De La Fuente
Producer: Ryszard Chutkowski
Writer: Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: French (Original Language), Analog; Italian (Original Language); Polish (Original Language)
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 98 minutes
Release Date: 2001-04-03
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Paramount
Studio: Paramount

VHS Movie Reviews of The Double Life of Veronique [VHS]

Movie Review: Astounding artistic achievement
Summary: 5 Stars

Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski made a dozen or so quality films, but beginning with The Double Life of Veronique, he suddenly catapulted into the artistic stratosphere inhabited by such greats as Fellini, Kurosowa, and Bergman. Starring Irene Jacob, whose acting is as superb as her beauty, the film is a complex metaphysical examination of twin souls briefly touching then parting and leaving only question marks. Jacob plays both roles, and Kieslowski moves at will between their two lives, sometimes with few visual clues. It may take several viewings to get their lives straight, but it is worth it. Long out of print, this film eluded me for about five years before I found a VHS tape, which I watched many times before it was released on DVD. If you like great filmmaking and don't mind subtitles, I highly recommend this film as I do Kieslowski's other masterpieces, the trilogy Blue, White, and Red, which are absolutely incredible films. (Jacob also stars in Red -- in my opinion the best of these three great films.) Though from Poland, Kieslowski made all of these films in French. Unfortunately, he passed away at the peak of his directorial powers.

Movie Review: The "Meeting"
Summary: 5 Stars

In the film, Veronique catches just a glimpse of her "other self" as a bus pulls away, but that glimpse raises the question: suppose the two Valentines actually did meet? Such a meeting would pose some fascinating questions, I think. And the possibility of such a meeting made me recall two wonderful pieces of fiction by the master Argentinean poet/philosopher/writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986). In two of his short stories such meetings actually do occur; "The Other" (from "The Book of Sand" - 1975) and "August 25, 1983" (from "Shakespeare's Memory" - 1983). Could Kieslowski have read these works?

Movie Review: Excellent
Summary: 4 Stars

The Double Life Of V?ronique (La Double Vie De V?ronique) is the 1991 French-Polish film by Krzysztof Kieslowski, written by himself and Krzysztof Piesiewicz that was the presage for the greatness of the Three Colors Trilogy (Blue, White, and Red), and was an international sensation at both the Cannes and New York film festivals, for here is where the gilt-hazed camera work of Slawomir Idziak, the music of Zbigniew Preisner (although slyly credited to the fictional Van den Budenmayer in the film- a running joke within Kieslowski's later works), and Kieslowski's own vision first touched greatness- even if it is a conditional greatness, more of sensuality than sense. The film has been rhapsodized by international film critics as Kieslowski's `coming out' film, but one can see it is clearly a bridge between the direction he was headed with his tv series The Decalogue, and where he ended up in the Trilogy.
The film is not linear, which is the first thing that separates it from the typical Hollywood, and even contemporary European, films, but there is a cloying coyness to the film's reliance on synchronicities and contrivances that is more pronounced than in the Trilogy, where the errors Kieslowski made here were modulated. A film, or any work of art, that has a number of interpretations is exciting, but one with unlimited interpretations is a cheat, and reeks of narrative laziness. The Double Life Of V?ronique falls just short of going too far, but the relentless scenes of cogitation for the sake of cogitation- and revealing lead actress Ir?ne Jacob's lovely face and body, border on the obsessive; which would not be a bad thing, considering a good portion of the film's tale is on that topic, but the plain fact is that there is nothing new brought to the table on said topic.
Many critics have read so much nonsense into the film- such as the early death of Weronika absurdly representing Poland's absorption into the Soviet Bloc- in this most apolitical of films, that such readings only highlight the film's greatest failure- a lack of coherence. Yes, the film has to be given some latitude, narratively, but open endedness, to a fault, is still a fault. That Kiesloski did not repeat this in his later films is a recognition of this fact, and may explain his near obsessive need for tying up the ends of the Three Colors Trilogy in Red. Such things as how Alexandre got Weronika's possessions? Could he be the lover that Weronika was leaving Antek for? After all, he's famous and travels. Thus his later obsession with her twin, when he meets her, would have psychological resonance, as well as explain his stalking and sending of things. One can resist the temptation to figure out every last detail in a film like this, for much does not stand up to intellectual scrutiny, but to not ground the narrative in some bit of internal diegetic reality is to rob the film of its solid foundation.
The Double Life Of V?ronique ultimately misses greatness, if by a hair, because of these flaws- such as its too contrived, and lacking in chemistry, romance, for it often tries to force its implausible mystery at the viewer, rather than letting it evolve more subtly. In this way, its directed ending- even if more mysterious, is actually more in line with the Pulp Fiction sort of storytelling than that in the Three Colors Trilogy, which might explain why The Double Life Of V?ronique was highly awarded, whereas Red lost out to Quentin Tarantino's convoluted yet plot driven film at that year's Cannes Film Festival. The ending, where Alexandre tells V?ronique of his plan for a book similar to the film is simply too much, and such preciousness is a flaw in the screenplay by Kieslowski and Piesiewicz. One wonders what a greater screenwriter, like Bergman, could have done with these ideas. He certainly would have muted some of the obviousness, for even in Persona- another overrated, but greater, film, he does not go so far as to have the two aspects of what could be one person/persona played by a single actress. Thus, the film relies more on its strengths- which are undoubtedly great: the acting of the sensual yet innocent Jacob, and the evocative imagery, where the narrative's oneiric progression works best in its hermetic cosmos, crafting the dialogue of the two women from silence, even as the camera fixates on the radiant Jacob.
I wonder if Kieslowski was aware of the scientific studies done on twins separated at birth, and if this fact influenced this film, even to the point that the two women were, indeed, twins- one adopted by a Polish family, and the other by a French family? Such a hint that this might be the case could be evinced through further watchings, which I shall engage in, and which might just raise this slyly intriguing cocktease of a film above the bar for greatness. Until that time, however, I am left with the critical truism that while the narrative interior of a film can get away with not being analyzed too closely, the same cannot always be said for its exterior workings. This is why the film left me with a lack, yet why I also will view it again. Sometimes success and failure can have the same result. Other times not. Just ask Weronika/V?ronique.

Movie Review: Soul Sisters
Summary: 5 Stars

Director Krzysztof Kieslowski had previously explored the concept of multiple and parallel possibilities in life for the same person with his film, PRZYPADEK, (BLIND CHANCE) 1987, and with a brief subplot in the ninth episode of THE DECALOGUE (1990). With VERONIQUE, he probed deeper into the metaphysical probabilities in life, and postulated that each of us could, or might have a "doppelganger" out there, walking on this sphere just as we are, two almost identical parts of the same spiritual entity, and two separate but nearly identical souls. We can, or might be "aware" of that other presence, and we could share insights, instincts, fears, mishaps, dangers, and health issues.

Weronika (Irene Jacob) lived in Poland, a young woman still residing at home with her father. She has a fabulous natural singing voice, and is discovered one day by a famous music teacher--but she also has a cardiac condition that she does not deal with. Disregarding her heart problems, she launched into strenuous voice training, and plunged headlong into a fledgling career--but during what would have been a triumphant singing debut, she collapsed and died mid-performance.

We then are introduced to Veronique (Irene Jacob) who lived in France. She was a music teacher, who seemed to be taking singing lessons. She had recently returned from a trip to Poland, and without realizing it, she and Weronika had glimpsed each other while in the Great Square at Krakow. Weronika had seen Veronique clearly, although she made little of it. Veronique had snapped a photograph of Weronika without recognition of her. There is a myth that if we ever meet our doppelganger, one of us will die. Krieslowski seemed to subscribe to this notion.

Moments after Weronika's death, Veronique while making love suddenly felt a tremendous loss, an overwhelming sense of grief--somehow becoming aware that she was now "alone" in the world. She immediately contacted her singing teacher and cancelled her lessons, abandoned the notion of a singing career. This cross over of instinct or genetic knowledge was not explained--it is just presented.

Most of the film dealt with Veronique's life in France. She fell in love with a dashing and mysterious writer and puppeteer, who somehow seemed to "understand" the duality of her nature, and of her life. When he created two puppets, possibly representing this probability, Veronique fled from the relationship, fled from her full recognition of her special circumstance. It was if Weronika had ventured forth first on this firmament, like a fraternal twin, taking a breath mere minutes before the other. The choices she made for herself, however catastrophic, resulted somehow to serve as guidelines and considerations later for Veronique.

Kieslowski presented us several delicious overlapping and synchronicious symbols and objects that became the common warp and weave of the two lives in both countries--leaves, upside down imagery, landscapes, churches, colors, string, fathers, missing mothers, toys, and a weak heart among others; nothing overt yet still significant enough to reinforce our tingle of deju vu. There is a reoccurring character in both scenarios--a stern looking woman is a large hat; reminiscent of the angelic "observer" who appeared in most of the episodes of DECOLOGUE.

Kieslowski's universe was both Gnostic and existential, natural and surrealistic, mundane and nearly surreal at times--but there is no doubt that he led the way for many other film directors to explore to notions and philosophies he created. Many of us presently are less impressed with him than we should be, for we are inundated with CGI games that effortlessly offer us multiple choices for specific outcomes. We make one choice and our character is killed. We simply rewind, back up and start over, making another choice and hoping to emerge victorious, the master of our fantasy scenario. In the 1980's however this was a "new" twist, a new concept--the role of both chance and parallel histories.

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE (1991) took Cannes and the world by storm in 1991--despite its nonsensical plot premise and unorthodox structure, liberally mixing non-linear and parallel storylines with metaphysical postulates. I feel that it is a classic, a barn burner, a trend setter, and it is not to be missed.

Movie Review: Absorbing Tale of Love With Marvellous Moods., 8 Oct 2007
Summary: 4 Stars

Plot:

Although oblivious to the other's existence, Veronika, an aspiring Polish soprano, and V?ronique, a Parisian music teacher, gradually become aware that they are connected to a spiritual twin.

My Review:

His earliest film to date that undertakes the acting of Ir?ne Jacob.

The themes embellished are of a deep mysterious balance of fate upon the lives of two women sharing more that several physical and psychological traits. It doesn't push the idea of them being linked by pure coincidence or a grander design, just touches on it and lets you decide for yourself.

The mosaic shots really do emphasise the warmth of the worlds inhabited by Veronika in Krakow and V?ronique in Paris, with a score that balance them as much as each other. The style is almost the same as the Three Colours trilogy, as Jacob would be in the concluding part. Nevertheless, the one of the most enjoyable incomplete scenes is of the reverie by the tree, leaving it to the audiences mind to fill in the gaps.

Compelling, intricate and visually beautiful, you would get the sense of a mood and almost dreamlike structure to it, as if it had been filmed on the warmth of a lazy Summer afternoon. Krzysztof Kieslowski: rest in peace.

Verdict:

Kieslowski shows why modern day Dramas like Haggis's emotionally contrived 'Crash' tries to 'Hollywood' the real impact of love, grit and realism. 9/10.

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