PTAbro's World Tour Stop 10: Poland

Colors and reflections. Ghosts and puppets. Dreams and death. Sight and touch. Song and dance. A rich tapestry of obfuscated reality, of imagined lives, both present and afar. Who are we? Where are we? Why are we? Is any of it real? If it is, how real is it?

The Double Life of Véronique is a question of identity, of how much our "I" belongs to other people. Of how much of "them" resides in us. Are we puppets of a loving caretaker, playing our parts for his celestial audience? Or are we the music-makers, who guide his hands to protect us from harm, who demand from him a safety net of human consciousness…

Have you ever tried to describe a half remembered dream? It is practically impossible. You'll always end up relating the broad strokes, perhaps remembering something symbolic, but never failing to forget how it made you feel. That is both what Kieslowski's film is about and manages to evoke within its audience.

I'm glad my tendency to always want to analyze and understand everything quickly took the back seat, allowing me to revel in the captivating beauty of the film and let its dream like content resonate with me.

In beautiful red, yellow and green the quartet of performer, director, cinematographer and composer create something that can only be a film and is therefore cinema at its most pure form. There…

The Double Life of Veronique is impossible to capture in words without making the film sound hokey, dull or a mixture of both. It is as if the film’s beauty will be sullied or the illusion broken by attempting to explain and rationalise its unique and surprising power. I remember the first time I watched the film, I was impressed by its technical accomplishments but was nonplussed by its story of two women cosmically linked and considered it one of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s lesser works. Yet, over time, the film would begin to haunt me as if its magic needed time to blossom and take full effect. Over many years and numerous re-watches I now consider it to be Kieslowski’s greatest…

This is the fourth time I've watched 'The Double Life of Veronique' this year, but this will be my first review of any real length. I suppose, as is often the case with anything which one unreservedly loves, it's very hard to articulate my affection in a logical way. But here goes.

'Veronique' is a film that's almost impossible to pin down; it has strong but unexplained fantastical elements that help build an irresistibly ethereal atmosphere, personified perfectly by Irene Jacob as the dual character of Weronika/Veronique.

Her performance is the key part in this unsolvable puzzle, giving the viewer a focal point in a dreamlike world. Her character is remarkably naturalistic, appearing clumsy as she falls while she crosses…

Film #6 of The December Project

The Double Life of Veronique left me speechless. The first thing I thought was: how the HELL can I write a review of this film when my brain has evaporated from the sheer brilliance of it? It seems like any words I use will drastically underrate and undermine my true sentiments for this film, but I'll give it my best shot in the spirit of the December challenge.

From the first time you hear Veronique sing, you know she's just a little bit different than the rest of us. She has a really special positive energy that's infectious and makes you want to see the world and experience it the way she does. I…

Identity, singular, paired, are we alone or are we moving around a grand played out path towards anything or anyone in particular. Perhaps neither, and this is our arrogance, our lust for truth, and incessant need to comprehend our lives and what everything means. Perhaps identity doesn't mean a damn thing. Kieslowski is intimate, optimistic, he cares about human nature and was desperate to comprehend it, and wanted others do so with him. Veronique gleams with his optimism, his optimistic view that something mystical is always happening, characters aware of it or not. Viewer aware of it or not. Kieslowski can say he was a pessimist at heart all he likes, hope always glimmers through. I hope to touch on…

I assume every viewer will end up with their own set of perceptions and questions. Kieslowski leaves things wide open to interpretation and meditation. I assume that I am connecting the different arts and how they interconnect because this is a question I am mulling over generally at the moment. The thought occurred to me that somebody should write the book of this film. A lot of first person imagery lets the audience transpose their own feelings onto what you see. Imagine reading the actual thoughts of Weronika/ Veronique as you watch the film. Perhaps the greatest piece of art is yet to be produced, which would take the form of expressing the same idea through the virtues of first…

PTAbro's World Tour Stop 10: Poland

Colors and reflections. Ghosts and puppets. Dreams and death. Sight and touch. Song and dance. A rich tapestry of obfuscated reality, of imagined lives, both present and afar. Who are we? Where are we? Why are we? Is any of it real? If it is, how real is it?

The Double Life of Véronique is a question of identity, of how much our "I" belongs to other people. Of how much of "them" resides in us. Are we puppets of a loving caretaker, playing our parts for his celestial audience? Or are we the music-makers, who guide his hands to protect us from harm, who demand from him a safety net of human consciousness…

Have you ever tried to describe a half remembered dream? It is practically impossible. You'll always end up relating the broad strokes, perhaps remembering something symbolic, but never failing to forget how it made you feel. That is both what Kieslowski's film is about and manages to evoke within its audience.

I'm glad my tendency to always want to analyze and understand everything quickly took the back seat, allowing me to revel in the captivating beauty of the film and let its dream like content resonate with me.

In beautiful red, yellow and green the quartet of performer, director, cinematographer and composer create something that can only be a film and is therefore cinema at its most pure form. There…

I really wanted to like this more than I actually did, so I'll start with the positives.

The film looks gorgeous, the sound is stunning (dear God, Preisner, did you steal the score from Heaven?), the lighting is moodily atmospheric, the use of color is impeccable, and Irene Jacob is just lovely in every conceivable way. From that list right there, you'd think that this has the making of a masterpiece about it, and it certainly has the prerequisite components.

Then there's the plot. What at times feels sweepingly poetic and tender can at other times feel entirely vacuous. The film has a fascinating setup that teases the viewer a great deal, but until the final minutes of the film,…

This is the fourth time I've watched 'The Double Life of Veronique' this year, but this will be my first review of any real length. I suppose, as is often the case with anything which one unreservedly loves, it's very hard to articulate my affection in a logical way. But here goes.

'Veronique' is a film that's almost impossible to pin down; it has strong but unexplained fantastical elements that help build an irresistibly ethereal atmosphere, personified perfectly by Irene Jacob as the dual character of Weronika/Veronique.

Her performance is the key part in this unsolvable puzzle, giving the viewer a focal point in a dreamlike world. Her character is remarkably naturalistic, appearing clumsy as she falls while she crosses…

I'll be honest, I didn't fully understand this enigmatic piece of work, I actually carelessly dived straight into it due to the simple fact that it was incoming a week since I last saw a full film, so I flung this in with little pre-warm up entertainment. And to be fair, it had been a while since I last saw a film like this.

Seeming to tackle ideas of fate and control of our lives, via those who care for us or people complete detached from our lives. The film is utterly absorbing, yet very structureless, I was genuinely surprised when the film ended, as I felt I still had another 20 minutes to go, and would of been happy…