The Double Life of Veronique

I mentioned yesterday the main difference between Weronika and Veronique, that of awareness. Veronique lives in a higher level of consciousness because she is attuned to the world and receptive to lessons. The most important thing I have taken away from my years’ long study of Michel de Montaigne, supplemented

As we’ll see in this segment, Weronika and Veronique are not exactly alike. But they do share very warm, loving relationships with their fathers, and in this scene, Veronique drives home to see her dad. He seems to live in a very lovely cottage in the French countryside. We

We next see Veronique in her classroom, where she has put on the blackboard notations for a piece of music she says that she enjoys. Veronique says it was only recently “discovered” but was composed over 200 years ago by a Dutch composer. It is, of course, the piece by

Veronique enters the school building, walking with her chimes, as if she needed another reminder of her angelic quality. When she gets to the music room, she sees a middle aged man setting up what appears to be theatrical equipment, including some lights. She apologizes and tells him that she

The transition from Weronika to Veronique is stark and abrupt. The casket is in the earth, the screen fades to black, but we still hear the shovels at work covering the casket fully. As the sound continues, visuals of Veronique begin. She is bathed in that gold tinted light again,

Kieslowski doesn’t give us a lot of time to get to know Weronika. We are thrown right into the plot and given only subtle hints about her inner life. I wrote earlier that there is nothing mysterious about Weronika, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t confusing, especially