La double vie de Véronique
Krzysztof Kieslowski La double vie de Véronique [1991]
My favourite scene in this film is when Veronique finds the picture of Weronika and is overcome with emotion at the realisation that her suspicions of being split in two in someway could be more than her imagination. This theory is later played upon and perhaps given some confirmation by the marianette maker (puppeteer) in the film’s final scene, with the eerily accurate echo of the two character’s lives – leaving the audience, who is able to read/see only what Veronique does, wondering what authority/knowledge this man has.
What I find most relevant to my research in this case however, is the fact that so much importance is placed upon small details by the protagonists (particularly the second – Veronique) that act microcosmically or have symbolic value to the realms acted within the narrative of their parallel lives. For example,
1) the twin puppets
2) When Veronique sees the photograph of Weronika she exclaims ‘thats not me…thats not my coat’
Here, there is a definite idea of an outside, omnipresent party having some kind of control over the two girl’s lives; either a godlike or puppeteer character, or the force of fate. The film plays with notions of familiarity and deja vu in an insightful manner that reminded me of the interconnectivity of the world, how all people share innate qualities that somehow bind individual lives together and of the possibility of fated lives. In La double vie de Veronique, Veronique manages to changes her fate through her shared insight and forewarning of the example of Weronika’s life, who acts as a kind of self-sacrificial martyr, and Veronique decides to give up singing choosing instead to share her gift by teaching.
In these instances, fate is both cruel and kind, evidently embedded in every material and immaterial thing/concept/feeling in the film, everything holds the potentiality for becoming very significant or vital to saving Veronique’s life (eg: the treasure trail made by the puppeteer) and it is this becoming potentiality that I am interested in.
If, everything that falls across my path by chance or as obstacle contains the potential of relevance, either directly to me or on diversion, I should at least attempt to unlock its potential and secure it’s purpose.
