Review of The Double Life of Véronique (1991) by Edith N — 02 Jun 2008

Every once in a while, a film comes along that I cannot say anything about. Or I can, but I cannot string a coherent review out of it. Generally, these are films that I have continued to watch despite the fact that they don't always make any sense to me. Often, they are in some way striking--lovely, in this case, if for no other reason than the music. (And the puppets, which I've seen somewhere before. [i]The Muppet Show[/i], on one of the occasions wherein they had another puppeteer on the show?) And, of course, Irène Jacob, who plays our title characters, is a beautiful, beautiful woman, almost enough reason to watch the film just for her.

On the other hand, I have no idea what's going on here. I can piece together the driving force of the film, but I cannot begin to tell you any of the details. I know only that there is Veronique in France and Weronika in Poland, and that they are the same woman separated into two bodies. Into two lives that are different yet eerily the same. For this, it is worth watching. If you want more than that, my advice to you is to watch something else.

But this [i]is[/i] a beautiful film. I am grateful to have watched it, as has been the case with other films. This goes beyond the "some stuff happens" category; you will note that I did not use that title form this time. Generally, "some stuff happens" films are bad, and this one assuredly is not. It's not even that distant "I can see, I guess, why other people like it" sort of movie that we got in [i]Children of Paradise[/i]. (Which, let us admit, I hated madly.) I liked this movie. I just nearly didn't write anything about it, because I didn't know what to say, and so instead of writing about the film, I'm writing about writing about the film. Ye Gods; this should go under "meta.".

The amount of effort involved in churning out a review is directly proportionate to how much I connect to the film, I guess. Some of them are remarkably easy. [i]Astonishingly[/i] easy. Especially ones like [i]Sweeney Todd[/i], where I have an abiding love of the source material, or [i]The Other Bolyen Girl[/i], where I have a pretty clear knowledge of the history (or, like [i]The Other Boleyn Girl[/i], lack thereof). There is always enough to say. Those are the reviews that stretch on beyond my self-imposed five paragraphs. (Yes, I go back and check before I submit.) They enchant me; writing becomes effortless, as though I am somehow connected to the computer by my mind. I am not writing it; it is writing itself. However, sometimes, there is something dense that I feel I must review, or a film I hated but not in the right way to attempt being funny about it, just surly. Or something like this, which I did really like but can't summarize.

I have watched a lot of movies; I am rapidly approaching 1000 reviews. ([i]Gone With the Wind[/i], here we come!) Few of them were as odd as this one and yet didn't feel, to me at least, pretentious. I don't know what to say about this one other than, yeah, I can see why we Need to See It Before We Die.