The Double Life of Veronique (1991)
"La double vie de Véronique" (original title)

Weronika lives in Poland. Véronique lives in Paris. They don't know each other. Weronika gets a place in a music school, works hard, but collapses and dies on her first performance. At this... See full summary »

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Stars:

Irène Jacob, Halina Gryglaszewska, Kalina Jedrusik

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Irène Jacob	...	Weronika / Véronique
Halina Gryglaszewska	...	La Tante
Kalina Jedrusik	...	La femme barjolée
Aleksander Bardini	...	Le chef d'orchestre
Wladyslaw Kowalski	...	Le père de Weronika
Jerzy Gudejko	...	Antek
Janusz Sterninski	...	L'avocat (as Jan Sterninski)
Philippe Volter	...	Alexandre Fabbri
Sandrine Dumas	...	Catherine
Louis Ducreux	...	Le professeur
Claude Duneton	...	Le père de Véronique
Lorraine Evanoff	...	Claude
Guillaume de Tonquedec	...	Serge
Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus	...	Jean-Pierre
Alain Frérot	...	Le facteur

Storyline

Weronika lives in Poland. Véronique lives in Paris. They don't know each other. Weronika gets a place in a music school, works hard, but collapses and dies on her first performance. At this point, Véronique's life seems to take a turn and she decides not to be a singer...

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Plot Keywords:

singer | marionette | railwayman | avant garde | twins | 

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Taglines:

Each of us is matched somewhere in the world, by our exact double - someone who shares our thoughts and dreams

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for scenes of sexuality

Details

Country:

France Poland Norway

Language:

French Polish Italian

Release Date:

22 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Double Life of Veronique

Filming Locations:

Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France

Box Office

Gross:

$1,999,955 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sidéral Productions, Zespol Filmowy "Tor", Norsk Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The text sung by Weronika in the Concert is actually the beginning of the second Chant of Dante's Paradiso: "O voi che siete in piccioletta barca, desiderosi d'ascoltar, seguiti dietro al mio legno che cantando varca, Non vi mettete in pelago, ché forse, perdendo me, rimarreste smarriti. L'acqua ch'io prendo giá mai non si corse; Minerva spira è conducemi Appollo, è nove Muse mi dimostran l'Orse." Dante, Paradiso, II, 1-9.

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Goofs

A heavy rainfall occurs at the beginning of the film. Unfortunately, as the camera pans up to show a large statue in the back of a pickup truck, the "rain" is revealed to be water being sprayed from the side.

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Quotes

Weronika: Is that me?
Alexandre Fabbri: Of course it's you.
Weronika: Why two?
Alexandre Fabbri: Because during performances I handle them a lot. They damage easily.

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Connections

Referenced in Gossip Girl: The Unblairable Lightness of Being (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Verso il cielo"
Music by Zbigniew Preisner
Text from Dante Alighieri (as Dante)
Performed by Le Grand Orchestre de la Radio et Télévision Polonaise de Katowice, Choeurs Philharmonique de Silésie,
Elzbieta Towarnicka (soprano), Jacek Ostaszewski (flute)
Conducted by Antoni Wit

User Reviews

The most beautiful movie I've ever watched

I still remember over 10 years ago watching this movie all alone in a theatre with no one else (Monday afternoon or some other week day time). Irene Jacob, the streets of France and Poland, the editing, the love scenes, the plastic ball reflections, and especially the music all are so beautiful that actually made me shivered and stunned.

Kieslowski's in another world now. I always worry whether it's possible to watch another movie that struck me so badly. A million thanks to him for showing me the most beautiful film of my life (probably).

p.s. this film has only been released in VHS - so ridiculous, a shame of the industry.