“What else do you want to know about me?“
What’s it all about? “La double vie de Véronique” follows the lives of a young woman in Poland, Weronika, and a young woman in France, Véronique, both played by Irène Jacob. The two appear identical and share many traits, including cardiovascular problems and singing talents, but are unaware of the other’s existence.
The credits rolled. The lights went on. And the girl beside me said, “What a load of crap.” I was a little shocked that she was so blunt about it to a stranger. She must have really hated the film. This was the general consensus of the people sitting around me. But the oddest thing? The theatre was packed. “La double vie de Véronique” was a selection for Free Friday Films at the University of Toronto a few weeks back. Whenever I go to the Free Friday Film screenings, less than twenty people show up. Armed with this knowledge, I procrastinated in my apartment and arrived at the show with only five minutes to spare. You should have seen my face when I opened the doors to Innis Town Hall; I was surprised, to say the least. I think I got the last seat in the whole place.
Unlike the girl beside me, I enjoyed the film. Some parts I didn’t quite understand and some things were left unanswered, but I suppose that’s what you get when you watch a French/Polish art house film. Irène Jacob turned in a wonderful performance as both of the doppelgängers in the film. I think I appreciated the French storyline more, but that is probably because it had more time in the film for narrative development. In retrospect, I’m not suprised the theatre was packed. But that girl beside me? Well, I don’t know what to say about her.
Favourite Scene: Major kudos to Sławomir Idziak for some of the most beautiful cinematography I have ever seen. The imagery through the plastic ball was childishly and breathtakingly beautiful. I know it’s such a simple technique but, if you’ve seen the movie, you will remember that part of the movie. I can’t get it out of my head.
Notes: Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski; Produced byLeonardo De La Fuente; Written by Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Krzysztof Kieślowski; Starring Irène Jacob; Music by Zbigniew Preisner; Cinematography by Sławomir Idziak; Editing by Jacques Witta.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Really? Whenever I go, it's always packed.
Maybe you just have better taste than me, Caroline, and you show up for the more popular films. :)
haha, i seriously doubt my taste in things but it's true, i haven't gone to as many screenings as i've liked/haven't experienced the whole spectrum.
Artificial Eye in the U.K. put out a region-free Blu-Ray of this that is absolutely stunning, and cheap; I got mine for like 16 USD including international shipping. I adore Kieslowski — he is, as Kubrick once put it, "metaphysical through example," creating these snaking tendrils that connect characters in places without insisting on them and making mysteries out of normal life that have no resolution (and shouldn't). This may be his best single film, though the 10-hour miniseries Dekalog and the Three Colors Trilogy are masterpieces as well. I'd kill to see it on a big screen.
@Jake I was very lucky to see the film on the big screen. The film was visually spectacular. I'm very interested in these two other works you mention. I'll make sure to add them to my list.
Ahh, to embrace such a transcendent expression of joy, mystery, and beauty with, “What a load of crap.” Truly there is no more appropriate linguistic construct, and I am merely wasting my words. However, were I to attempt to rival such a statement I believe prose would be insufficient and I would need all the power of rhyme and meter to do it justice, and even then a musical accompaniment may be required. I’ve encountered people who have the near exact opposite tastes to mine who absolutely love this film; I’ve encountered a Portuguese man who spoke of its power after his ninth (or was it thirteenth?) viewing; I know a guy who is the most sensitive person on the planet who unreservedly claims it is his favorite film; it’s the gift that keeps on giving. It becomes even more magical when set against his Polish films, for me, because he was constantly working against the oppressive government, fighting for every political inch, and he finally was able to push the political into the background (you see the protest when Weronika is photographed by Veronique and she drops her sheet music) and embrace the freedom coming on the heels of the fall of the curtain and the freedom to comment simply on the ethereal wonder of existence, free of political struggles and in celebration of the unity between peoples. It is no coincidence that a filmmaker moving from Poland to France presents a Polish woman dying, I can tell you that. I can’t say whether the film is bottomless or not, but I don’t think its possible to reach the bottom, and you can always return for a serene swim in its waters. So great.
Leaves, I am quite sure that your comment is longer than my write-up. Even though I don’t want to mock the intelligence of undergraduates, I highly doubt that 18-22 year-olds on a Friday night in the city at a free screening would be Krzysztof Kieślowski’s target audience. I did, however, find a few people at the screening who were pleasantly astonished by the film. Its cinematography will haunt me forever.