This is a film which defies explanation. The story, on the one hand is quite simple in concept. There is a linking force between two women who live countries apart yet somehow have a sense of the other, even a love and kinship with each other. The one of them seems ignorant of it until that link is severed, at which point she sets about trying to understand the link she has lost.
Truly, what sets apart the film is not the unique concept (though it is fascinating) but, rather, the way Kieslowski tells the story through dreamlike remembrances, refractory light and reflection, beautifully haunting and lifting music, and a performance from Irene Jacob which must have been a combined effort between her and the director.
Beginning with the latter, I have to say that there is something odd yet wonderful about Irene Jacob's ("Au Revoir les Enfants") performance as both Veronique and Weronica. Avoiding voice over to add interior monologue is a challenge. When you are working with an actress who performs as brilliantly as Jacob the answer is acting. At almost no point in the film are you left wondering what she feels or what she is thinking. Her face says it all. Her body language punches it home.
Hers is a face which can shine forth with innocence, passionate desire, heart-heaviness, soul rending grief, and exuberant joy, even as she astounds with singing performances which carry away the audience. She really is what makes this film work. Without her there is nothing here to watch.
This understanding that what the audience connects to is through what they see and experience through the film allows Kieslowski to create a true work of art. Like The Mona Lisa, theories abound as to what he meant by it but ultimately he has left it up to us viewers to find meaning within.
Many have said that they see religious allegory. Others see supernatural connection of spirit between people or even reincarnation. For me, There are some key scenes that lead me to believe that it is, at least in part, about generational knowledge and human collective consciousness.
In many ways it seems that Veronique learns from the experiences that her counterpart Weronica has had even when she is totally unaware of the connection. She has a sense of what she should do in any given moment or situation, despite never having had a similar experience. She just knows what is the right thing to do.
This theory of mine is furthered by the presence of both girls' fathers and their interesting relationships with them. The one seems far closer than the other but is that because she has learned from the other's mistakes or because we must all learn the balance between a past generations knowledge and our own self knowledge.
In ways, I think this film encourages us to find a balance between the two, realizing that we are more than just ourselves or even the various possible paths we could take through life. We are communal beings who live amongst others, not just in our physical environments, work, school, and home, but also in our spirits, minds, and hearts.
The film provokes one to rumination and thought, to be sure. I am confident that while another person may see "The Double Life of Veronique" and see something completely different within it, they will see something which captures their heart and wakens their spirit as only great art is able to do.
Truly, what sets apart the film is not the unique concept (though it is fascinating) but, rather, the way Kieslowski tells the story through dreamlike remembrances, refractory light and reflection, beautifully haunting and lifting music, and a performance from Irene Jacob which must have been a combined effort between her and the director.
Beginning with the latter, I have to say that there is something odd yet wonderful about Irene Jacob's ("Au Revoir les Enfants") performance as both Veronique and Weronica. Avoiding voice over to add interior monologue is a challenge. When you are working with an actress who performs as brilliantly as Jacob the answer is acting. At almost no point in the film are you left wondering what she feels or what she is thinking. Her face says it all. Her body language punches it home.
Hers is a face which can shine forth with innocence, passionate desire, heart-heaviness, soul rending grief, and exuberant joy, even as she astounds with singing performances which carry away the audience. She really is what makes this film work. Without her there is nothing here to watch.
This understanding that what the audience connects to is through what they see and experience through the film allows Kieslowski to create a true work of art. Like The Mona Lisa, theories abound as to what he meant by it but ultimately he has left it up to us viewers to find meaning within.
Many have said that they see religious allegory. Others see supernatural connection of spirit between people or even reincarnation. For me, There are some key scenes that lead me to believe that it is, at least in part, about generational knowledge and human collective consciousness.
In many ways it seems that Veronique learns from the experiences that her counterpart Weronica has had even when she is totally unaware of the connection. She has a sense of what she should do in any given moment or situation, despite never having had a similar experience. She just knows what is the right thing to do.
This theory of mine is furthered by the presence of both girls' fathers and their interesting relationships with them. The one seems far closer than the other but is that because she has learned from the other's mistakes or because we must all learn the balance between a past generations knowledge and our own self knowledge.
In ways, I think this film encourages us to find a balance between the two, realizing that we are more than just ourselves or even the various possible paths we could take through life. We are communal beings who live amongst others, not just in our physical environments, work, school, and home, but also in our spirits, minds, and hearts.
The film provokes one to rumination and thought, to be sure. I am confident that while another person may see "The Double Life of Veronique" and see something completely different within it, they will see something which captures their heart and wakens their spirit as only great art is able to do.