The Double Life of Veronique ( La Double vie de Véronique ) ( Podwójne zycie Weroniki )

The Double Life of Veronique (DVD) (*)

~~$28.99~~ $22.97

Original Title: La Double vie de Véronique
Alternate Title: Podwójne zycie Weroniki
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Cannes Film Festival
Ceasar Awards
Golden Globes
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Polish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Polish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 4 )

Running Time:
94 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
2-DVD Set
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1991 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Norway ( Scandinavia, Iceland )
Poland ( Russia, Eastern Europe )

Directed By:
Krzysztof Kieslowski

Written By:
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Actors:
Irène Jacob ..... Weronika/Véronique
Halina Gryglaszewska ..... La Tante
Kalina Jedrusik ..... La femme barjolée
Aleksander Bardini ..... Le chef d'orchestre/Conductor
Wladyslaw Kowalski ..... Le père de Weronika/Weronika's father
Jerzy Gudejko ..... Antek
Janusz Sterninski ..... L'avocat/Lawyer (as Jan Sterninski)
Philippe Volter ..... Alexandre Fabbri
Sandrine Dumas ..... Catherine
Louis Ducreux ..... Le professeur/Professor
Claude Duneton ..... Le père de Véronique/Father of Véronique
Lorraine Evanoff ..... Claude
Guillaume De Tonquedec ..... Serge
Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus ..... Jean-Pierre
Alain Frérot ..... Le facteur/Postman

Synopsis:

The Double Life of Véronique (French: La double vie de Véronique, Polish: Podwójne życie Weroniki) is a 1991 French and Polish-language drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Irène Jacob. Written by Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film explores the themes of identity, love, and human intuition through the characters of Weronika, a Polish choir soprano, and her double, Véronique, a French music teacher. The two women do not know each other, and yet they share a mysterious and emotional bond that transcends language and geography. The film is notable for Sławomir Idziak's innovative cinematography and Zbigniew Preisner's haunting operatic score. The film was Kieślowski's first to be produced partly outside his native Poland. The Double Life of Véronique won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival for Krzysztof Kieslowski, and the Best Actress Award for Irène Jacob.

The Double Life of Véronique is the story of two young women who are - in some mysterious and irresolvable way - the same woman leading two different yet interconnected lives. Those familiar with Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's later 'Three Colors' trilogy of Blue, White, and Red will recognize his fascination with accidental happenings and chance encounters, as well as Irène Jacob (from Red) whose performance as both Veronika and Veronique won the 1991 Cannes Film Festival award for best actress. Veronika and Véronique are born on the same day in 1966, one in Poland, the other in France. They grow up separately, unaware of each other's existence, but with the vague and rarely expressed feeling that they are 'not alone.' The story begins in Poland, where Veronika (like Véronique) is a talented vocalist and music student who wins a prestigious singing competition and is given the chance to perform with a local symphony. On the night of the concert, while singing a duet onstage, Veronika loses consciousness and dies. Véronique is emotionally wounded by the loss of her double and decides to end her singing career. The film charts the effect of Veronika's death on Véronique and on her dispassionate and unsatisfying relationships with men, especially her father. She is led to puppeteer and children's book author Alexandre Fabbri (Philippe Volter), whose puppet shows and stories are dramatic variants on her own mysterious problem. While looking through photographs of Véronique's trip to Poland, Fabbri discovers a picture of Veronika walking through a student demonstration in Kracow. He shows the picture to Véronique, who intuits the significance of Veronika's perfect likeness to herself.

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

This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 10 September, 2006.

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