This is a good time in the story to introduce my theory of “Three Colours: White” — actually, two different theories. The first is that, while Kieslowski officially calls Blue, White, Red a trilogy, there is a single moral universe that binds The Dekalog, The Double Life of Veronique and the Three Colours films.

We know they are connected in some sense by the existence of the fictional composer Van Den Budenmeyer, who is introduced in Dekalog 9, plays a key part in The Double Life of Veronique and again in Blue. He is not a part of White, but does make a final appearance in Red. Characters for Blue step into White, so we know these stories are connected.

Kieslowski has created his own fictional late 80s, early 90s Europe. And there’s something of a “Wizard of Oz” feel to this universe as well, with Poland serving like Kansas and Paris being the Land of Oz.

My second theory is that The Double Life of Veronique and Three Colours: White are similar plots in reverse. While Veronique is romantic and centered on a young woman two takes two forms, White is darkly comic and centered on a young man with completely different personalities in his locations.

This man with the double name is like Charlie Chaplin’s tramp in Paris — poorly dressed, rejected, impotent, broke, perhaps even a fugitive from the law. But as soon as he arrives in Warsaw, Karol Karol is reborn. He becomes confident, scheming, and capable of concocting an intricate revenge plot.

I’ll stop here and let the theory play out in the scenes ahead. What makes this movie enjoyable for me (at least until the plot falls apart at the end) is seeing Karol Karol prove he is something more than the loser Dominique took him to be in Paris. Knowing that he’s actually two different people makes her love and hate for him somewhat understandable.

And the other aspect of the movie I enjoy thoroughly is all of the Dekalog actors who return for this story — I look forward to pointing them out in the scenes ahead.