The Double Life of Veronique

This is one of the most beautiful films I've seen... This whole film is a hug, the kind you share with a very good friend when you are in sympathy about something that is very important. —Roger Ebert

The Double Life of Véronique (French: La double vie de Véronique, Polish: Podwójne życie Weroniki) is a film by Krzysztof Kieślowski, also the director of Blind Chance and the Three Colors Trilogy. It tells the story of two women called Weronica and Véronique, from Poland and France respectively. So what’s the catch? Both women look exactly the same, share a lot of personality traits and seem to be aware of each other’s existence. However, they never interact with each other, except for a small distant scene. Way Better Than It Sounds.

The movie is filmed beautifully, has an ethereal atmosphere and a beautiful main actress (Irène Jacob), so you really don’t have a reason to not watch it. Unless, of course, you dislike philosophical movies.

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The film provides examples of:

• Better Than It Sounds/Film
• Doppelganger
• Executive Meddling: The American release has an alternate ending at the request of Miramax.
• Fake Composer: The story features recurring references to a Dutch classical composer named Van den Budenmayer, and his music is even performed in a concert. Only he never existed.
  • Actually, that's part of a Mythology Gag.
• Foreshadowing
• Hollywood Heart Attack: Averted. Weronica has a very realistic and disturbing heart attack.
• Identical Stranger: Weronica and Véronique. Of course, they’re both played by the same actress, so…
• Mythology Gag: The composer Van den Budenmayer is mentioned for the first time in an episode of The Decalogue, and again in the Blue and Red movies of the Three Colors Trilogy.
• Nightmare Fuel: Weronica’s symptoms of a heart attack. The fact that a flasher passes near her doesn’t make things funnier.
• Ominous Latin Chanting
• Psychic Link
• Shout-Out: To the Eye Scream of Un Chien Andalou.
• Show, Don't Tell: One the film’s greatest strengths.