Ackland Film Forum: “The Double Life of Veronique” (K. Kieślowski, 1991)

The Double Life of Véronique
Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1991

Introduced by Prof. Gregory Flaxman, English & Comparative Literature

The most visually stunning film in our series this semester, The Double Life of Véronique concerns the intersecting lives of two women who are unknown to one another: a French music teacher and a Polish singer who are both played by the same actress, Irène Jacob. Kieślowski’s metaphysical style conveys their links through a system of doublings that never spells things out for us. Not unlike the protagonists, we feel profundity without exactly knowing why. Prepare for an emotionally rapturous, strangely suspenseful experience that the greatest art cinema provides. This film’s use of music and ambient sound makes it a feast for the ears no less than the eyes.