La double vie de Veronique
Krzysztof Kieślowski
La Double vie de Véronique is the great Polish director’s first movie after the fall of the Berlin wall. It is also the first Kieślowski-title in which the French actress Irène Jacob (Trois couleurs : Rouge ; Al di là delle nuvole, Michelangelo Antonioni) makes an appearance in a impressing double role. Jacob plays both Weronika and Véronique. The one lives in Krakow, the other in Paris. Both are (classical) singers destined to a great career, suffering from the same heart condition. When Weronika dies during a performance, Véronique puts an end to her singing career. She then receives a tape from a mysterious stranger. Are we truly unique? How would we react if we met a doppelganger who not only looks like us outwardly but also inwardly? What is the true meaning of identity ? To what extent can we influence the course of our lives? These are some of the philosophical questions Kieślowski asks, only to work them out in poetic, almost dreamlike scenes.
Flagey, Film Fest Gent On Tour
