- 1991movierewind
Episode #96: The Double Life of Véronique
Listen to Episode 96 of the Podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.
SUMMARY - In The Double Life of Véronique, Irène Jacob plays dual roles. One woman moves to Warsaw to take care of her sick aunt and pursue her singing career. The other lives in France teaching music and searching for a very specific love. Both are oblivious of the other but possibly share an unspoken connection.
Screenplay by Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz; Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski; and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 1991.
FILM DISCUSSION
This is a tough movie to talk about as the plot is actually pretty sparse.
Normally that can be a problem, but this centers around unspoken feelings of connection and attempting to make sense of them.
Being a movie about two lives, you can expect a lot of cinematography that plays with reflections, glass and mirrors.
One of our problems with the movie is that we kept trying to piece together the mystery that it seemed to be presenting.
And there could be something to that as Nikki proposed the interesting theory about the puppeteer/author.
However, for the most part, it's meant to be open-ended. That's something few movies can get right, but this one does.
We'll keep the summary and notes relatively vague, because even though there aren't a lot of "spoilers," it's best to let the imagery speak.
There are so many little nuances and nuggets that could be found once you understand the movie a bit more and what it's looking to accomplish.
It is meticulously detailed with great music and cinematography as well.
The result is something that could be best described as an atmosphere.
Awards Talk: Golden Globe Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Spirit Nominated for Best Foreign Film. Cesar nominated for Best Actress (Jacob) and Best Music (Zbigniew Preisner). Cannes Winner for Best Actress, The FIPRESCI Prize, The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, and one of the many nominees for the Palme d’Or
TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE
This week we don't have any true crime but here is information on other events of the day
The big news(?) was that the Queen went to a baseball game (don't worry...Reggie Jackson wasn't there).
For music, Nikki is looking at all of the debuts on the charts for the week of May 18, 1991
82. See The Lights - Simple Minds
89. This Time Make It Funky - Traci Spencer
91. Lily Was Here - David A. Stewart ft. Candy Dulfer
94. Temptation - Corina
95. Treat Em Right - Chubb Rock
97. Exclusivity - Damian Dame
RANKINGS & RATINGS
Nikki 1-5 star scale - 4 out of 5
Jon 0-4 star scale - 3 1/2 out of 4
Would you watch it again? - Both of us had a little trouble reconciling our assumptions about what we thought the movie was going to be against what the movie actually was. This is a film that seems to be designed for multiple viewings and the audience would be rewarded for that. Even though the story itself is sparse, there is a richness to this that would only be enhanced by subsequent viewings.
If you want to watch The Double Life of Véronique, as of this recording in January 2023, it’s available on Criterion Channel, Kanopy, Digital Rental, VHS, DVD. Check your local listings.
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