nan | 楠木

The Double Life of Veronique, as this film is named in the US, is in body and spirit a woman’s film. That such a feminine film is the work of a male director is in itself no small accomplishment – while I can only try in futile to grasp the myriad emotions flowing , Krzysztof Kieslowski obviously has found a path deep into the soul of our female counterparts.

As a film that tackles existential questions, the plot is not worth mentioning – indeed you can say there is hardly any plot. In a thriller (my typical genre), the same material would be covered in (gasp!) two minutes of over-cutting a la Michael Bay. But to suggest such editing is akin to heresy – because in a film of emotions and philosophical depth, you study every scene and every note, searching for clues to the questions in your own heart. It’s like staring at the sky in a starry night – everyone watches the same, but everyone sees differently.

But alas, I should talk something about this film, otherwise this would make for a very short review. As the title suggests, there is a girl named Veronique, who lives in France. There is also an identical girl, Weronika, living in Poland. Both girls love music, and both girls are not in great physical condition (heart problems). They are always searching, searching for something that they feel is missing in their lives. And in some indescribable way, they can at times sense their connection.

The film explores their inner worlds with great subtlety, and the mood of the film – that slight note of sorrow and amiss – certainly fits with the theme of searching for meaning. The score (of which there are quite a lot of analyses and discussions) is arguably the heart and soul of the film. I would not pretend that I understood all the layers of meanings and metaphors – to do so is similar to trying to understand all the intricacies of a woman’s heart, and that’s something I believe I haven’t succeeded in so far.

There are certain films (like this one) which I must compel myself to watch. They don’t fall into my usual genre interests, and are arguably too touchy-feely for my tastes (hence the hypothetical Michael Bay above), but they do form an important part of film literature, and gives me a broader perspective. Enough said.

7/10