40. The Double Life of Veronique

Much of what I love about the late director Krzysztof Kieslowski's movies is that they are often difficult to grasp at first and have new and unexpected layers with subsequent viewings. That's certainly true of his 1991 breakthrough film The Double Life of Véronique, the first one he made outside of his native Poland.

When I first saw it shortly after its initial release, I couldn't make heads or tails of it but found myself utterly captivated. The film's storyline is relatively simple. Swiss actress Irène Jacob (in a role initially offered to Andie MacDowell) plays a promising Polish choirgirl named Veronika who dies after completing her big debut. She has a sort of French doppelganger in Véronique (also played by Jacob) who shares many of Veronika's traits including her heart disease and love of music. Without knowing about the loss of her other self, Véronique quits singing and becomes oddly morose.

Kieslowski presents her eventual realization with dozens of subtle clues. Listen for shifts in the music (the tune one woman performs is heard by another in a different context) and watch how he can make a simple plastic ball seem utterly magical.

Jacob won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, and effortlessly switches between the two characters. Her glowing presence makes even the drawing of a breath mesmerizing.  Sadly, this film is not yet available on DVD. It's a natural for a deluxe treatment because European and American audiences saw different endings, and Slawomir Idziak's delicate cinematography begs for a more dignified transfer than VHS can give. (Dan Lybarger)