The Double Life of Veronique
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Actor: Aleksander Bardini, Claude Duneton, Louis Ducreux, Philippe Campos, Sandrine DumasBrand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-12
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Homevision
DVD Reviews of The Double Life of Veronique
DVD Review: Double lives
Summary: 5 Stars
The late director Krzysztof Kieslowski had a magical style, and a subtle way of weaving exquisite stories with light and colour.
And one of his finest films is "The Double Life of Veronique" ("La Double vie de Véronique"). It's not just a philosophical, arty film, but a subtle and unique tale full of Kieslowski's directorial magic, and gives Irène Jacob a chance to shine in her most challenging role.
There are two women, the Polish Weronika and the French Veronique (both played by Irène Jacob). They have never met, never spoken, and do not know that the other exists. They share the same losses and the same health. Weronika is a singer, and Veronique is taking singing lessons. But their lives and souls are bound together, and their personalities are yin-yang opposites, one practical and one a stargazer.
What is more, each has the strange feeling that she is, somehow, not alone in the world. One night, Weronika dies onstage while singing. Suddenly in France, Veronique is stricken with a strange feeling, and stops taking her lessons. Weronika has died, but she still lives. Soon she begins to explore, searching for the truth about her double life, and a strange puppeteer who somehow is a link between both girls.
"Double Life of Veronique" is one of those rare films that manages to combine beauty and depth, with a great lead actress and brilliant director. And there's a luminous, quiet quality to the film that not many movies are able to convey, from the beginning to end.
And it's wrapped with just enough ambiguity to leave you wondering what it's all about. Is it about twin souls, love, sacrifice, fate, politics, being puppets in the grand scehem of things, or just about some mysterious dimension of the spiritual? Even the ending is ambiguous; Kieslowski allows you to wonder whether happiness or grief is in the cards.
One thing you can be sure of -- Krzysztof Kieslowski's direction is impeccable. His use of light and shadow, and the atmospheric music, make "Double Life" practically a work of art. He dots the film with plenty of little hints about the inner states of the characters -- the stars and leaves show that one woman is a dreamer, one down-to-earth. Kieslowski also used a minimalist approach to dialogue, often using pauses and silence that speak louder than the ordinary words.
At times this film seems like a love letter on film to Irène Jacob. Not only is she followed constantly by the camera, but her character is difficult but rewarding. Jacob shines without really seeming to, with the emotion and wonder of a small child in an adult body. Philippe Volter's aura of mystery adds to his excellent acting in his too-brief scenes. But few of the other characters are given much dimension -- the whole focus is on Weronika and Veronique.
This bewitching tale of love, loss, and interconnected souls winds a spell around your screen, and leaves you feeling a little sad. Interpret it as you will, but be sure that Kieslowski's "Double Life of Veronique" is exquisite.
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Description of The Double Life of Veronique
DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE - DVD MovieFilled with reflective surfaces and vivid colors, The Double Life of Véronique marks one of Krzysztof Kieslowski's most haunting films. Just as the director divided his time between his adopted France and his native Poland, the story involves two unrelated women who look exactly alike (both played by Red's Irène Jacob, who won the best actress award at Cannes).
The Polish Weronika, a classical singer with a heart condition, collapses during a performance, after which Kieslowski turns his gaze to the French Véronique, a music teacher who shares the same ailment (much like Kieslowski, who died after cardiac surgery in 1996). Véronique's life follows a similar track, while her affection for Alexandre (Philippe Volter), a puppeteer, suggests the working relationship between the actress and the filmmaker. It's Alexandre, after all, who draws Véronique's attention to the existence of her double (through a photograph she took on a trip to Krakow). In that sense, Kieslowski plays with art as much as identity. Instead of explaining the connection between the characters, he lets the mystery serve as its own reward.
In her commentary, Annette Insdorf (Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski) outlines the reasons she finds the film so metaphysically rich, from the insights into Kieslowski's background to Sawomir Idziak's inventive cinematography. Other extras include interviews with Jacob, Idziak, and composer Zbigniew Preisner; a featurette; a profile of the director; the alternate ending (which feels extraneous); three shorts (the best is 1980's "Railway Station," in which Kieslowski presents a throng of commuters from the perspective of a security camera operator); and an additional short ("The Musicians") about a band of factory workers by his instructor Kazimierz Karabasz. Kieslowski admired this heartfelt portrait for the way it expressed "the human need to create." --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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