Double Life of Veronique

Double Life of Veronique

The film The Double Life of Veronique, directed by Krzysztof Keislowski, is the extraordinary story of a somewhat mystical connection shared by two women, one in France and one in Poland. The Polish version, Weronika shares with the French Veronique the feeling that they are not alone in the world and that their experiences are shared, or at least connected. Throughout their lives, the women together provide the concept of a balanced whole, with the spiritual being represented by Weronika and the earthly, or physical, by Veronique. As such, there is not only a perpetual balance, but also a continuous tension between the spiritual and physical, which lasts until Weronika's death. In interpreting the film, some questions may arise, including the reasons why the balance seemed more effective in Veronique than in Weronika.

The dichotomy between the spiritual and physical components in the two women becomes evident during the first scenes of the film, where Veronique and Weronika are shown with their mothers. In Weronnika's scene, she is held by her mother and she sees the city upside down. Her mother, however, draws her attention to the stars rather than the earthly realm of the city. This is then where Weronika's attention remains until the end of her life, with the stars representing heaven, or the spiritual realm.

The gaze at the stars is the start of a kind of addiction for Weronika. She is so smitten with the spiritual realm that it is difficult for her body to exist in the physical dimension. As such, she finds extreme joy in the art of music, which elevates her to the dimension of the spirit. Symoblically, the world of spirit is represented by physical images such as the stars, rain, and the upside down Polish city of Weronika's vision at the start of the film. For Weronika, the pursuits of spirituality manifest themselves as artistic forms; music, dancing, and drawing. Art in its purest form belongs only to itself, being created for its own sake. Hence, it is intensely spiritual and does not belong to the earth, but rather to the spiritual realm. It is this kind of art that brings intense joy to Weronika, but it is also her addiction. It creates havoc for her physical body.

This becomes evident every time she engages in her artistic pursuits. At one point, practicing for her recital makes her so weak that she can barely walk. Yet, her urge to surrender completely to the music is so great that it eventually kills her.

Weronika does have a few precarious connections that bind her to the earth and creates the possibility for her to live for a time in the physical realm, even if it is precarious. Her relationship with her boyfriend, for example, is her most visceral connection to the flesh. Making love to him provides her with a temporary groundedness that allows her to maintain her physical energy. She also has connections to her friends, family, and particularly her father. At one point, it takes indecent exposure to simply ground her enough to stand up and walk again after a musical practice.

In France, Veronique is Weronika's opposite, in that her addiction is to the earth. When she is a young girl, her mother shows her a leaf, examining its details. In contrast to the distant stars and the spiritual, the leaf represents all that is earthly, which can be seen, touched, and described in full detail. This is Veronique's world. She is fully grounded within the earthly realm and matters of the flash.

As one of the symbols of this, sex is used to show adult Veronique in her earthly realm. Significantly, the first scene with Veronique as an adult is while she is having casual sex. It is, however, significant that this encounter is happening at the time of Weronika's death. Feeling this, Veronique becomes overwhelmed with unaccountable sadness and grieves in the middle of her sexual process.

Throughout Veronique's life, she has been free to pursue life in the earthly realm because Weronika provided balance by living almost exclusively in the spirit world. Hence, both women are free to pursue what makes them happiest, because the other provides balance. Weronika's death removes this balance from Veronique, however. This creates a drive in Veronique to search for balance elsewhere. She finds this in the form of Alexandre, the marionette artist.

Alexandre's art represents balance; while it is art, it has a continual earthly component. The art of the marionette does not exist for itself, it needs continuous human involvement to maintain its energy. Hence, for Veronique, this provides the perfect balance between the spiritual beauty provided by art and the grounded nature that the human element provides.