(Krzysztof
Kieslowski/1991/Poland, France & Norway)
The very
best films, in my opinion, ask questions without answering them or
present ideas without comment and simply allow the viewer to explore
some aspect of thought for themselves. The Double Life of Veronique
is a masterful example of this type of film wherein Kieslowski
attempts to capture a sense of the mystical that can occur in life.
In attempting that the film itself becomes a mystical experience, to
watch, to pore over, to open up to and allow to pull you along a
curious thread through the universal mind. A chance intersection of
two women’s lives conjures up the notion of doppelgangers and lives
being lived in some spiritually connected but physically separated
way. Like an extension of his earlier movie Blind Chance, which
explored how life might pan out if we could rerun certain events and
make different choices (itself a variation on Kurosawa’s Rashomon -
the same tale told from three viewpoints), Veronique introduces the
image of the puppeteer suggesting that we are not in control of our
own destinies and are living out one of a myriad of narratives.
Chance, coincidence, intuition and a sense of otherworldliness
combine to enmesh the viewer in this spiritual pondering aided in no
small way by the mesmerising performance of Irene Jacob and the
cinematography of Slawomir Idziak. It’s the ambience of exposure in
every scene that lifts the entire film. Incredibly unique and
affecting, one of Kieslowski’s best and a must watch.
(5/5)
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