Hi! Here is Alethea, the person who is studying European Cinema will discuss with you about the reliability of the suspicion that reflecting Europe history in The Double Life of Veronique. There are two arguments about Veronique, one of them is personal suspicion about the relationship between the film and historical itself, which believes that Véronique and Weronika separately reflects Western Europe and Eastern Europe.  Another one is the statement of the director Krzysztof Kieslowski, which claims his will on art instead of the politic. After having collected data about historical background, conjecture and director’s clarification, I prefer to approving that the metaphor of Western Europe and Eastern Europe is an over-reading of Kieslowski’s Veronique due to the specific historical time. To explain the opinion, the following provides interpretation combined with evidence.

Introduction of The Scene

One of the most famous scenes is Polish Weronika accidentally discovers the paralleled character with her on the square, from 00:14:17 to 00:16:20. 

The camera follows with Weronika walking through the outside gallery, the huge stream of people  merely finished demonstration beyond her back. 

Then she is collided by a parader, papers of music score scatters over the ground. 

After gathering up the papers, Weronika notices a familiar figure while slowing down her steps. Police car passes by, a woman (Véronique) entirely same as her is getting on a travel bus and photographing at square. 

Weronika is attracted by the woman, she stares at her until the bus leaves. 

Historical Background

1. Europe 

Between the 80th and 90th Year during the 20 Century, communism’s disintegration results the compromise between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, especially in politic and culture aspects. Pushed by the fast growth of conciliating, May 1991, Václav Havel proclaimed that Europe could be converted as a combined region of peaceful cooperation between civilizations (Robert, 2000). 

After the ‘freedom shock’, the variation of politics and economics directly determines the influence in Polish cinema, numerous of film industry eliminate living on being sponsored by government and transformed into free market economy (Haltof, 2004). Which means the theme of films bridge into artful domain from being limited in politics. 

2. Krzysztof Kieslowski

Through student period to mature period, Kieslowski started filmmaking with documentary craft and built a transition towards feature film by combining novels and documentary in 1970s, and the original intention is also to pay attention on personal topic instead of politics (Haltof, 2004). His growth nearly approaches a single line development which looks identical to: documentary - documentary and feature film - feature film. Thus, The Double Life of Veronique, which screened during 1991—— the mature period of Kieslowski’s film, is largely a stereotyped pure feature film that ignores the political petition. 

A Metaphor? 

Some audiences consider the Veronique is the reflection of Kieslowski’s political unconsciousness. Haltof (2004) mentioned that police cars and riot polices surround Weronika while she gazing Véronique getting on the bus. People usually appreciate it as the intense wish of hoping Europe amalgamation among civilization. As Qinyun (2007) shared in her blog, the accidental pause of Weronika’s singing and vita could be understood as a hint of Eastern European collapse during one night, and the cause of two Veroniques’ separation is geographical factor that similar with Western and Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, her analysis has a loophole that Europe was violently and artificially separated into two parts, but the main tone of the Veronique is concentrating on how they met each other and fell into the loneliness again. 

Or A Coincidence —— Which means, over-read. 

Based on an interview of Kieslowski, Christopher (2009) reports that the Veronique is a perceptual film contains feelings, premonitions and relationships, the director deliberately balance the mystique and expression by post-producing multiple versions in editing room. That means Kieslowski unwilling to display strong purposefulness in his art work. 

However, Graham (2000) consider that the political element thoroughly through his life from prophase documentary to subsequent feature film, even though he is attempt to avoid shooting political topic. Oppositely, all the film should be built on an existed time, and politics is only a single aspect similar with culture or dialects that penetrates every periods of time. Perhaps he has filmed several documentaries reflect on politics, but if the audience analyzed films by being limited in political extent, then every film could be squeezed out signals of politics. Moreover, only one scene that portrays meeting another self of Veronique has not evident enough for indicating Eastern and Western Europe’s story. Nevertheless, this film also spent enough articles on enriching Weronika’s and Véronique’s personal life about boyfriend, family, career and death. According to the whole structure, European combination apparently is not a core or important inference in this film. 

Also, the formalism of beauty is designed in many time during this film. The following are some instances. Firstly, there is a statement that Veronique’s name is derive from Latin’s ‘vera’ (real) and ‘icon’ (image) (vivi, 2010). Secondly, though the name of the film has been discussed for a lone time before re-producing, Kieslowski and his producer are still unsatisfied with ‘The Double Life of Veronique’ (Haltof, 2004). Thirdly, the romantic orange tone is the fundamental mood during color correction, accompanies with holy music, the sense of religion is sublimated into mysticism and fatalism. Due to some elements re presented in a high artistic dimension, the film would become raw and inferior if been understand according to political thinking. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, even facing multiple interpretations of The Double Life of Veronique and Kieslowski’s filming career, I am still approve of the Veroniques’ story’s appearance is the core of this film. Kieslowski is a great director merely performances emotion between personal life even the story is fictitious, the rest of space is for audiences to fill up. If you were twins, you would appreciate the Veronique through twins’ angle; if you were historical scholar or Europe civilization, you would analyze it through the European merger’s angle. The art of film does not exist the most correct answer for all the audiences to understand, ideas could be spread, but should be monopolized. Most importantly, one of the reason why Kieslowski expresses his disdain on politics might be encouraging people to focus on art and emotional reflection, instead of over-reading the factors that onside his works. To appreciating the Veronique subconsciously, you will be in a brand new life as the director expects. 

Reference 

Haltof, M (2004).The cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowśki: variations on destiny and chance.New York: Columbia University Press. 

Knight Christopher J. (2009).“For Once, Then, Something”: Krzysztof Kieślowski’s“The Double Life of Véronique” and the Apophatic Beyond.Literature/Film Quarterly,37(4), 283–294. 

Qinyun (2007 January 2). Two Veronique, the collapse of Eastern Europe and Kieslowski’s political unconsciousness. [Web log post]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.douban.com/doubanapp/dispatch/review/1106451?dt_dapp=1. 

Robert, G (2000). Double Lives: Europe and Identity in the Later Films of Krzysztof Kieslowski. In

J. Andrew, M. Crook, D. Holmes and E. Kolinsky (Ed.).Why Europe? Problems of Culture and Identity (pp. 37-50). United States of America: st. Martin’s press.