Dying of the Light

Written and directed by Paul Schrader, Dying of the Light is the story of a CIA agent who is trying to track down a terrorist as he copes with memory loss that is worsening by the day. The film is a psychological thriller of a man trying to stop a terrorist from doing more harm only to become a liability to himself. Starring Nicolas Cage, Anton Yelchin, and Irene Jacob. Dying of the Light is a by-the-numbers and unexciting film from Paul Schrader.

22 years after an incident that left him with a lot of bad memories and a severed right ear lobe, the film follows a CIA agent who believes that a terrorist who tortured him is still alive as he is aided by his protégé to help find this terrorist. That is the premise as a whole as it play into this man trying to stop the terrorist who nearly killed him as he is convinced the man is alive. Yet, he is starting to unravel due to the fact that he’s ill with an early stage of frontal temporal dementia as he is seen as a liability to the CIA. Paul Schrader’s screenplay does have a unique premise that seems to work on paper but it is clear that whatever ideas he had to create a thriller that is more about a man dealing with his illness and confront his past falls by the wayside into something that is more by-the-book that is expected in these political-based thrillers.

Schrader’s direction does have some unique compositions and moments that are interesting yet it is clear that whatever ideas he had to stray from convention were tampered with during the film’s post-production. Shot on various locations in Bucharest, Romania, Washington D.C. and nearby locations in Virginia, and locations in Queensland and the Gold Coast in Australia as Kenya. The film does have this worldly feel as it play into the idea of global terrorism as Schrader is also focused on the plight that CIA agent Evan Lake (Nicolas Cage) is dealing with where he would be aided by his protégé in Milton Schultz (Anton Yelchin). The moments of the two having a simple conversation are the most interesting scenes in the film yet it gets bogged down by not just some of the visuals but also these stories and scene that relate to the mission in hand.

Many of the visual elements of the film that include Gabriel Kosuth’s cinematography feel like it’s been given a polished look as whatever idea that Kosuth and Schrader wanted to do visually definitely was changed in the post-production without Schrader’s consent along with the input of one of its executive producers in Nicolas Winding Refn. The photography has something that feels way too clean and emphasizes more on the beauty of a location which is far from what Schrader wanted while its third act that include the climatic meeting between Lake and his dying torturer in Muhammad Banir (Alexander Karim) should’ve been compelling but the presentation with its usage of flashback montages end up making it conventional that is followed by a big shoot out that feels like it comes from another film. Overall, the film is a thriller that plays too much into its traditional schematics forcing its director Paul Schrader to not do anything new or break away from its conventions.

Editor Tim Silano does terrible work with the editing as it doesn’t do enough to build up the suspense as well as emphasize a lot of flashback montages while not doing enough to let shots play out longer in some of the film’s conversation scenes. Production designer Russell Barnes, with set decorator Gina Calin plus art directors Adam Head and Serban Porupca, does fantastic work with the look of Lake’s home as well as the Bucharest medical building he goes to. Costume designer Oana Paunescu does nice work with the costumes as it is casual for many of the characters in the film.

Hair/makeup designer Francesca Tampieri does terrific work with the look that Lake would use to play a Romanian doctor to meet Banir. Special effects supervisor Lucian Iordache and visual effects supervisor Danny S. Kim do OK work with the visual effects as it is mainly set dressing that eventually add to the film’s bland look. Sound designer Trevor Gates does superb work with the sound in creating an atmosphere in some of the locations though it gets unfortunately drowned out by Frederik Wiedmann’s score that is mainly a low-key electronic music that gets bombastic to the point of overblown. Music supervisor Gina Amador provides a soundtrack that doesn’t stand out as it is a mixture of pop and world music that never does anything.

The casting by Carolyn McLeod is alright as it feature some notable small roles from Serban Celea as the Romanian doctor in Dr. Iulian Cornel, Silas Carson as a CIA official trying to stop Lake from doing his assignment as well as express concern for the man’s health, Geff Francis as Lake’s doctor who reveals the severity of Lake’s condition, Adetomiwa Edun as a courier of Banir, and Alexander Karim as the terrorist Muhammad Banir as this man who tortured Lake many years ago only to re-emerge as a dying figure who is eager to live so he can plot another major attack. Irene Jacob is pretty good as the journalist Michelle Zuberain as a former lover of Lake who help Lake and Schultz in trying to get information as her character is underused largely due to the post-production work to reduce her performance.

Anton Yelchin is excellent as Milton Schultz as a protégé of Lake who makes a discovery about Banir and the idea that he’s alive as he is willing to help Lake as it’s a reserved performance that has Yelchin provide strong support though he too is hampered by the post-production tampering where it feels like there’s more to his character. Finally, there’s Nicolas Cage in a brilliant performance as Evan Lake as a CIA agent who is dealing with a disease as he is haunted by bad memories where Cage is given the chance to act crazy and be wild as well as display some calm in the way he’s dealing with his fading memories though he too is hampered by the film’s post-production troubles that doesn’t do more with his performance.

Dying of the Light is a terrible film. Despite the performances of Nicolas Cage and Anton Yelchin, it’s a film that seems to have a good idea from someone as talented and observant as Paul Schrader only for the film to be taken out of his hands and without his input. It’s a film that should’ve felt like a thriller that is also a character study but instead becomes something that never does anything new nor does it bring any kind of thrills. In the end, Dying of the Light is a horrendous film by people who doesn’t understand the language of cinema and take it away in the hands and mind of someone as talented as Paul Schrader.

Paul Schrader Films: Blue Collar - Hardcore – American Gigolo - Cat People (1982 film) - Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters – (Light of Day) – (Patty Hearst) – (The Comfort of Strangers) – (Light Sleeper) – (Witch Hunt) – (Touch) – Affliction - (Forever Mine) – (Auto Focus) – (Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist) – (The Walker) – (Adam Resurrected) – (The Canyons) – (Dog Eat Dog) – First Reformed - (The Card Counter)

© thevoid99 2019

Au Revoir Les Enfants

Written and directed by Louis Malle, Au Revoir Les Enfants (Goodbye Children) is the story of two boys at a Catholic school as one of them carries a secret during Nazi-occupied France in World War II. Based on Malle’s own childhood experience, the film is a coming-of-age story that plays into the lives of children dealing with a tense situation during World War II. Starring Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejto, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Francine Racette, and Irene Jacob. Au Revoir Les Enfants is a tremendous and touching film from Louis Malle.

Set in the winter of 1943-1944 during Nazi Germany’s occupation of France in World War II, the film revolves around the lives of children living in a Catholic school as among them is a returning student and a new one who has arrived to the school with a secret of his own. It’s a film that plays into a period in the life of a young boy who comes from an upper-class family as he meets a boy who is more of a stranger to his new environment yet they become friends through their loves of books. At the same time, Julien Quentin (Gaspard Manesse) learns something about his new classmate Jean Bonnet (Raphael Fejto) as he would keep it secret. Even as it plays to what is happening in Europe where Julien realizes what is going on and why Jean was taken in to the school along with a few students.

Louis Malle’s screenplay doesn’t have much of a plot as it emphasizes more on development to play into Julien’s awareness of his surroundings and his growing friendship with Jean. Jean arrives with some disdain from other classmates including Julien initially for the fact that he’s kind of an oddball as well as being the new kid who is actually better in academics and music than most of his classmates. Eventually, Jean becomes accepted as one of the boys as there’s subplots as it relates to the situation over what is happening outside of the school as the students and their teachers encounter a few German soldiers. Even as there’s also elements of black market where the students trade things with a young kitchen hand named Joseph (Francois Negret) while the boys also become interested in things like sex as it plays into their development. Yet, they’re forced to cope with the realities of their surroundings during the course of a cold winter just as the Nazis try to maintain order as well as assert their own authority into a place of faith and solitude.

Malle’s direction is quite simple as he doesn’t really go for anything that is stylistic with the exception of a few crane shots for a few scenes. Yet, it is mostly intimate with its approach to close-ups and medium shots as it plays into the typical life of what goes in a private Catholic school. Even in its compositions where Malle creates a moment in time as it relates to a boy coming of age during a tense moment in the history of the world as there is a scene where an algebra class is preceded with its teacher talking about what is happening as he is later interrupted by German soldiers. One notable sequence that plays into Julien and Jean’s growing friendship is a treasure hunt in the forest where Malle maintains something that is simple as well as something scary as it relates to the boys’ encounter with Nazi soldiers.

It’s one of a few moments of suspense while Malle also bring in ideas that play more into the reveal of some key characters as it relates to Julien and Jean’s friendship as there is also a funny scene where everyone is watching Charles Chaplin’s The Immigrant to show a world of escapism amidst this tumultuous period in time. It’s a moment where the teachers, staff, and student are all equal as well as the film’s ending as it plays into not just a loss of innocence but also a group of young boys and men of God who are forced to deal with the dark realities of the Nazi occupation. Overall, Malle creates a mesmerizing yet intoxicating film about two boys growing up at a Catholic private school during the Nazi Germany’s occupation of France.

Cinematographer Renato Berta does amazing work with the film‘s low-key cinematography with its usage of dark, grey colors for many of the film‘s locations as well as its emphasis on something natural while using some lights for scenes set at night. Editor Emmanuelle Castro does excellent work with the editing as it is very straightforward as it doesn‘t emphasize on style as it plays into the growing development of the drama. Production designer Willy Holt does fantastic work with the design of the school in its interiors as well as the cave where the boys and teachers hide out during an air raid.

Costume designer Corrine Jory does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly casual with its school uniform and priest robes along with casual clothes from some of the outsiders of the school. The sound work of Jean-Claude Lareux is terrific for its naturalistic approach to sound while capturing the sense of terror during the air raid sirens. The film’s music consists of pieces by Franz Schubert and Camille Saint-Saens as it is mostly played on location as it plays to the period of time as it serves as an emotional tool for Julien and Jean in their growing friendship.

The casting by Jeanne Biras and Iris Carriere is superb as it features notable small performances from Peter Fitz as a Gestapo official who leads the inspections, Stanislas Carre de Malberg as Julien’s older brother Francois who would often tease him but also help him, Francois Bereland as the generous and caring Father Michel, and Irene Jacob in a wonderful performance as the school’s lone music teacher Mademoiselle Davanne who is an outsider of the school. Francine Racette is terrific as Julien and Francois’s mother who adores Julien as she still treats him like a child. Francois Negret is fantastic as the cook helper Joseph who also is a black markets trader that plays an integral part to the story as it relates to what he does and the actions he would create towards the end of the film.

Philippe Morier-Genoud is excellent as the school’s headmaster Father Jean who watches over the school while is very protective of Jean as it relates to his own secret as he presents someone is trying to do something good. Raphael Fejto is amazing as Jean Bonnet as the new boy who arrives to school with a mysterious secret as he is someone that tends to keep to himself but shares his love of books and music to Julien which allows them to become close. Finally, there’s Gaspard Manesse in a brilliant performance as Julien Quentin as a young rich boy who is sort of the top student at the school who is quite dismissive at first towards Jean only to realize that how much they share the same love for books and such as he also copes with Jean’s secret and the realities of the world around him.

Au Revoir Les Enfants is an outstanding film from Louis Malle. Armed with a great cast and a compelling story about hate, faith, and growing up, it is a film that isn’t just one of Malle’s most accessible films but also one of his most personal. Especially as it plays to a period in time that Malle lived through as a child which adds to the intensity of the drama in the film. In the end, Au Revoir Les Enfants is a magnificent film from Louis Malle.

Louis Malle Films: (The Silent World) - Elevator to the Gallows - The Lovers (1958 film) - Zazie dans le metro - (A Very Private Affair) - (Vive Le Tour) - The Fire Within - (Bons baisers de Bangkok) - (Viva Maria!) - (The Thief of Paris) - Spirits of the Dead-William Wilson - (Phantom India) - (Calcutta) - Murmur of the Heart - (Humain, Trop Humain) - Place de la Republique - Lacombe, Lucien - Black Moon - (Close Up (1976 short) - (Dominique Sanda ou Le reve eveille) - Pretty Baby - Atlantic City (1980 film) - (My Dinner with Andre) - Crackers - God’s Country (1985 film) - (Alamo Bay) - (And the Pursuit of Happiness) - (May Fools) - (Damage (1992 film)) - (Vanya on 42nd Street)

© thevoid99 2015

Three Colors: Red

Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski and written by Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Trois Couleurs: Rouge (Three Colors: Red) is the third and final film of the Trois Couleurs trilogy where it explores the three colored symbols of the French flag. The film explores the theme of fraternity as a Swiss model meets a retired judge as she helps him while another story about a young judge is unfolding. Starring Irene Jacob, Jean-Pierre Lorit, Frederique Feder, and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Trois Couleurs: Rouge is a sensationally rich film from Krzysztof Kieslowski.

The film explores a model’s encounter with a retired judge after she accidentally ran over his dog where she deals with his bitter attitude as he often listens to people’s private conversations including a young man who is taking exams to be a judge. While the model Valentine (Irene Jacob) is aghast by his actions, she does help Joseph Kern (Jean-Louis Trintignant) find some redemption in an act of solidarity as Kern begins to reminisce about his own life as he ponders about the life of the young man named Auguste (Jean-Pierre Lorit) and the decisions he will make. All of which would play into the idea of fraternity where a woman helps a man to see the good in the world as he would see a young man who would take on the journey that would lead to regret and torment.

The film’s screenplay by Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz doesn’t just explore the concept of fraternity but tell it in a very simple manner as Valentine is living in Geneva as her boyfriend is currently in London. Her relationship with her boyfriend starts to fall apart as she also worries about her younger brother who has been drifting around a drug addict. Upon her encounter with a dog named Rita, Valentine feels the need to help this dog and ensure its owner that the dog will be OK. Yet, the character of Joseph Kern is a man lost his own bitterness as he passes the time by eavesdropping on his neighbor’s phone conversations. Their encounters would have a profound effect on the two where Kern would do something about his illegal activities while Valentine tries to figure out her own life as she finds a companion of sorts in Kern. One aspect of the script that is unique is the dialogue where it adds a rapport to the relationship between Kern and Valentine.

Notably as the former is a man that has become cynical in the world as he starts to notice the life of Auguste which plays into the same scenario that Kern had been through. Kern would eventually tell Valentine the source of his cynicism just as he is starting to embrace a new lease on life and ensure Valentine of a world with new possibilities. The subplot involving Auguste as this young man who wants to become a judge showcases someone a young man who is unaware of being part of the same misfortunes that humiliated Kern yet what the script does is to see how Auguste would react to these situations and how he could move on from them.

Kieslowski’s direction is very entrancing for not just its simplicity in the way he presents the film but also in his approach to style that just makes the film very unique. The film opens with Valentine’s boyfriend calling her from London to Geneva as it features this very stylistic yet very fast shot of phone lines connecting from London to Geneva as it starts off stylistically. Still, Kieslowski manages to keep things simple with some amazing shots of the city of Geneva where he doesn’t go for landmarks but rather places that makes it feel like a community that is intimate but also quite vast. One of the aspects of Kieslowski’s vision that is very intoxicating is his approach to the use of anamorphic lenses where he slowly pans a scene to showcase the home that Kern lives in or the apartment that Valentine lives in.

That use of anamorphic lenses are among some of the stylistic moments in Kieslowski’s direction as it features a few elaborate tracking shots as well as crane shots to play into the drama. Even as it manages to not overwhelm the story while Kieslowski also uses some visual motifs that he would repeat from his previous film to link them for this trilogy. Notably a shot involving an elderly person trying to put a glass bottle into a recycling bin which had been shown in different forms in the previous films while it is shown once again in this one as it plays to the theme of fraternity. The film’s ending not only plays to the impact of fraternity but it would also combine the three themes of the entire trilogy as it would serve as a fitting end to everything that Valentine and Kern would go through. Overall, Kieslowki creates a very intoxicating yet enchanting film about a young woman who helps a reclusive and bitter man find a new lease on life.

Cinematographer Piotr Sobocinski does phenomenal work with the film‘s cinematography not just in its approach to interior lighting for some of the scenes in Valentine‘s modeling job but also in some of the interior settings as well as the use of the color red which becomes part of the film‘s visual motifs as Sobocinski‘s work is a major highlight. Editor Jacques Witta does brilliant work with the editing as it‘s very straightforward in the way it plays to some of the lighthearted moments while using some unique rhythms to play into its drama as the cutting also features bits of style that also plays into the drama. Production designer Claude Lenoir does fantastic work with the set pieces such as the home of Kern that is a bit shambolic in its look as well as the apartment that Valentine lives in.

The costumes by Corrine Jorry are terrific as it plays to the casual look of Kern as well as the more youthful yet fashionable clothes that Valentine wears. The sound work by Jean-Claude Larreux and mixer William Flageollet is amazing for the sound work from the frequency waves that occurs in the car radio and in Kern‘s stereo equipment to some of the sparse moments in the sound. The film’s music by Zbigniew Preisner is just absolutely magnificent for its bolero-inspired score with lush string arrangements and operatic orchestral arrangements as it plays to the drama along with some somber pieces as it is one of Preisner’s finest scores.

The casting by Margot Capelier is excellent as it features some notable small roles from Jean Schlegel as a neighbor of Kern’s, Teco Celio as a bartender at the bar that Valentine goes everyday, Paul Vermeulen as a friend of Auguste’s girlfriend Karin, and Samuel Le Bihan as a fashion photographer who often flirts with Valentine. Frederique Feder is terrific as Auguste’s girlfriend Karin who also does the weather report by phone as she would play a key role into Auguste’s fate. Jean-Pierre Lorit is superb as Auguste as a young man who is studying to become a judge as his personal life starts to unravel as it mirror the humiliation that Kern would go through as a young man.

Jean-Louis Trintignant is incredible as Joseph Kern as a retired judge whose bitterness towards the world has him becoming a recluse as he eavesdrops on neighbors phone conversations as he comes to term with what he lost and the reasons why he quit being a judge. Finally, there’s Irene Jacob in a remarkable performance as Valentine as this young student/model who is very friendly and kind as she tries to help a dog she accidentally runs over and meet its owner in Kern as she pities him for his own cynicism as it’s really one of her finest performances.

The 2003 Region 1 DVD from the Trois Couleurs box set from Miramax presents in its 1:85:1 theatrical aspect ratio in the widescreen format that is enhanced for 16x9 televisions with Dolby Digital Surround Sound in its French language with English subtitles. The DVD features a full-length audio commentary track from Kieslowski historian Annette Insdorf as she talks about the film’s ending as well as its ambiguities and the performances of Irene Jacob and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The DVD also includes the 20-minute featurette entitled Insights Into Trois Couleurs-Rouge where Insdorff is among the individuals who are interviewed along with Irene Jacob, editor Jacques Witta, sound mixer William Flageollet, filmmaker Agnieska Holland, set photographer Piotr Jaxa, and film critic Geoff Andrew about the film and its production plus some of the events that led to Kieslowski’s eventual passing 2 years after the film’s release.

Other features include a 9-minute cinema lesson from Kieslowski about the concept of plot-point where he reveals what to show and what not to show. The 10-minute conversation with Irene Jacob has the actress talk about her collaboration with Kieslowski as well as her own insights on the film. Jacob also participates in a selected-scene commentary where she talks about her scenes with Trintignant and what she wanted to do but ended up going with what Kieslowski wanted. The 11-minute interview with producer Marin Karmitz has him talking about the film and its release where he revealed that Quentin Tarantino wanted to give the Palme d’Or prize to Kieslowski at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival while Karmitz also talked about his experience at the 1995 Oscars where the film was nominated for three awards.

The thirteen-minute interview with editor Jacques Witta explores many of the technical insights into the film plus some deleted footage that was cut where Witta revealed why they got cut. The 24-minute behind-the-scenes documentary on the film reveals a lot of what goes on in the production where Kieslowski directs his actors into a scene as much of it takes place in a theater where the Valentine character is working as a model. The 15-minute segment about the film’s premiere at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival reveals many interviews with the people involved as well as the press conference where Kieslowski announced that the film would be his last as it would hold true upon his death two years later. The DVD also features a flexography section on the works of Kieslowski plus trailers for the other two films in the trilogy and Tom Tykwer’s 2002 film Heaven that was based on a script co-written by Kieslowski.

The 2011 Region 1 DVD/Region A Blu-Ray from the 4-disc DVD/3-disc Blu-Ray for the trilogy from the Criterion Collection presents the film in a new high-definition digital restoration in its original theatrical ratio with remastered Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound in French with English subtitles. The DVD for the film features Kieslowski’s cinema lesson as well as the short documentary on the film’s premiere at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival as well as interviews with editor Jacques Witta and producer Marin Karmitz. On the fourth disc of the DVD/third disc on the Blu-Ray is the 24-minute behind-the-scenes documentary on the film as well as the 15-minute documentary Kieslowski: The Early Years that previously appeared in the 2003 DVD special feature for Trois Couleurs: Bleu.

Among the new features in the third disc of the DVD is a 22-minute video essay by film critic Dennis Lim about the film. Lim talks about the theme of fraternity as well as the themes of miscommunication and disconnection which is prevalent in the film as Lim also talks about the film’s place in the entire trilogy. Notably in its look and visual motifs where Lim talks about the film’s cinematography and it’s music as it’s an amazing visual essay about the film. A new 16-minute interview with Irene Jacob has the actress talk about her collaboration with Kieslowski as well as his approach to directing actors and to stage a scene. Jacob also talks about some of her own interpretations of the film while also talking about working with Jean-Louis Trintignant who had a blast working on the film and admiring Kieslowski.

The fourth disc of the DVD (that also appears in the third disc of the Blu-Ray) focuses on the trilogy such as the 55-minute 1995 documentary Krzysztof Kieslowsk: I’m So-So. Directed by Kieslowski’s longtime assistant director Krzysztof Wierzbicki, the film is an unconventional portrait of the filmmaker as he discusses about his life as well as some of his film. Even as he talks about a few of his methods and his decision to move from documentary to fictional narrative forms of filmmaking as it’s a must-see for any fan of Kieslowski. The fourth disc also features a trio of short films directed by Kieslowski as the he first is the six-minute short The Tram that is a simple story of a young man meeting a young woman on a bus.

The second is the 16-minute documentary short Seven Women of Different Ages which is about a week in the life of a ballet school as young ballerinas train where some manage to do performances while some are rehearsing. The third and final short is the 15-minute short doc Talking Heads which is an intriguing documentary short that has Kieslowski asking people their names and what to do as he asks an infant to a 100-year old woman these questions in a fascinating short.. Another short film that appears in the fourth disc includes a short Kieslowski is in called The Face which is a thriller of sorts that is inspired by the story of Dorian Gray. The fourth disc also includes trailers for all three films as they’re played back-to-back-to-back.

The DVD set also includes a 78-page booklet that features essays and other text pieces relating to the film and the trilogy as a whole. The first essay is from University of Cambridge lecturer Georgina Evans entitled A Fraternity of Strangers discusses not just about the film and its relation to the trilogy. It also talks about many of its themes as well as ambiguity in its story. Especially in its narrative where it plays to the idea of connection and disconnection as it’s a very engrossing essay. Another piece relating to the film is a brief interview with cinematographer Piotr Sobocinski entitled Show First, Explain After where the cinematographer talks about many of the shooting set-ups and some of intricacies that Kieslowski wanted. Even as he talks about some of its complicated set-ups as well as some of its simpler moments.

Two more text pieces emerge in the booklet as it relates to the entire trilogy as the first entitled A Hymn to European Cinema by University of Pittsburgh English/film professor Colin MacCabe. The essay talks about the trilogy and its importance to European cinema in the aftermath of the fall of Communism. MacCabe talks about some of its themes as well as Kieslowski’s determination to create something that was a hymn to Europe at a time when the continent was still trying to find itself in the three themes that Kieslowski would explore in the trilogy. The second and final text piece that relates to the trilogy is a 1993 interview with Kieslowski from a book of interviews with Kieslowki on his work at the time Bleu was in post-production as he was getting ready for the next film. Kieslowski talks about the trilogy as a whole as well as all of the stories as well as what he hopes to do. Even as he talks about a lot of things he plans as well as the images that are in the works for the upcoming films as it’s an interesting interview with the director.

Trois Couleurs: Rouge is an astonishingly enchanting and evocative film from Krzysztof Kieslowski that features great performances from Irene Jacob and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Not only is it a fitting end to the trilogy but also as a defining final statement from Kieslowski about humanity and the themes of the French flag. Even as it is a film that can stand on its own while also being part of something that will never be equaled or topped. In the end, Trois Couleurs: Rouge is a tremendously powerful and triumphant film from Krzysztof Kieslowski.

Krzysztof Kieslowski Films: (Personal) - (The Scar) - (Camera Buff) - (The Calm) - (Short Working Day) - Blind Chance - (No End) - (A Short Film About Killing) - (A Short Film About Love) - The Decalogue - The Double Life of Veronique - Trois Couleurs: Bleu - Trois Couleurs: Blanc

© thevoid99 2014

The Double Life of Veronique

Originally Written and Posted on 11/27/05 with New Edits & Additional Content

After taking part in the ambitious, 10-part miniseries of shorts and mini-feature films based on the 10 Commandments called The Decalogue, Polish director Kryzsztof Kieslowski noticed the political change in his native Poland in the late 80s. After years of communist rule, Kieslowski decided to relocate to France for financial reasons where he was given a chance to direct his next feature. A drama about two different women from Poland and France who have the same face, born on the same day, and have the same face in a strange, existential drama entitled La Double Vie de Veronique (The Double Life of Veronique).

Written with longtime screenwriter partner Kryzsztof Piesiewicz, La Double Vie de Veronique is a film that links two different women with similar traits and personalities with the same names of sorts, Veronique in France and Weronika in Poland. Playing both women in the title role is Irene Jacob in her breakthrough international role. Playing two different women with different points in their lives, Kieslowski's harrowing and mysterious existential drama is filled with cerebral and highly emotional moments. Also starring Phillipe Volter, Sandrine Dumas, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Alexander Bardini, and Jerzy Gudejko. La Double Vie de Veronique is a powerful, cerebral drama about two women who might be one soul.

In 1966, two babies were born in different places but have the same eyes and faces. One was a girl named Veronique in France and another was named Weronika in Poland. Now it's 1990 as Weronika is a singer in Poland who lives a happy life while yearning to make her dream as a opera singer to come true. After talking with her boyfriend Antek (Jerzy Gudejko), her aunt (Halina Gryglaszewska), and her own father (Wladyslaw Kowalksi), Weronika vies to audition for a prestigious spot for an upcoming opera. With her enchanting soprano voice, she catches the ear of the orchestra's conductor (Alexander Bardini), she lands an audition. Then on the day when she is walking in the middle of a city amidst a political protest, she sees a group of tourists and a young woman who looks exactly like her. The sight of a that young woman brings a lot of anxiety for Veronika as she waits for the day of her audition in which, she passes. After meeting Antek, her aunt and her father, she performs on that faithful night when something happens that changes everything.

Around the same time in France, Veronique begins to feel a moment of grief. Already having problems with a series of men including a boyfriend and her father (Claude Duneton), Veronique talks with her professor (Thierry de Carbonniere) to announce that she's decided to quit singing. Deciding to teach music instead, Veronique is about to set up her class when she notices a puppeteer/novelist named Alexandre Fabbri (Phillipe Volter) is going to perform that day. The play she sees with fellow teacher Catherine (Sandrine Dumas) was about a dancer whose dream of dancing is shattered after her leg is broken only to become a butterfly in the end provides an existential question for Veronique about this wave of grief.

After a conversation with her father about her mother, she announces to him that she's in love with someone she doesn’t know or met with. Suddenly, objects begin to come to her including a shoelace, a marble, and the result of her cardiology result which reveals that she too has anxiety problems with her heart. When Catherine asks her help with a problem she has concerning Alexandre, Veronique decides she'll do it only to learn more of Alexandre’s involvement. After reading his novels and learning about his whereabouts, she decides to try and meet him. Upon their meeting, they see a destroyed car in the cafe at a train station as she isn't sure what this meeting means. The meeting becomes disastrous at first but they decide to meet again at a hotel where she reveals him the objects he's given her. Then Alexandre notices a picture where Veronique discovers the source of her grief as she tries to look for answers.

While the film's existential and coincidental feel would later play a part in Kieslowski's landmark European trilogy of Trois Couleurs (Three Colors) especially the last part in Rouge (Red) that ultimately became his final film that also starred Jacob. It's a subject that is universal to him since the story is really about two women discovering about the idea if they have another person that's inside them but on the outside is from another world. While his screenplay with Piesiewicz is filled with moments of mysterious and questionable views on life.  It's an existential film where it asks more questions rather than gives answers as it ends on a somewhat, ambiguous note but not in a sentimental tone.  Still, the structure in the screenplay from the first act being about Weronika and the second act about Veronique's newfound grief and the third being her exploration works on many levels.

On a directing scale, Kieslowski doesn't use just the areas and his protagonist to tell the story but objects play a really important to what Kieslowski is trying to say. From the shoelace to the references of heart conditions, marbles, puppets, and music that brings the existential connection of the two women. Using mostly hand-held camera, Kieslowski brings a wonderful perspective to the film making the audience aware of what is going on and to the fact that the story doesn't lose its place where they know where they are and what is happening. It's some of the most inspiring directing from the late Polish filmmaker.

Helping Kieslowski in his visual scope and camera work is Slawomir Idziak who brings an orange, yellowish look to the movie.  Using filters to conveys the emotions and tone of the film in whatever place it's in. Idziak also brings a greenish and absorbing look to some sequences, especially with the use of the marble in the film which features some of the best camera work conceived in European cinema. The locations for Poland and France are inspiring while the production design of Patrice Mercier conveys the different worlds of the two women in its small and intimate apartments that they live in. Helping the film in the editing department is longtime Kieslowski collaborator Jacques Witta whose solid work in editing gives the film a nicely paced feel while being aware of the film's unconventional structure that works on all levels.

Another noted Kieslowski collaborator whose work is prominent is composer Zbigniew Preisner whose orchestral score brings a lot of drive to the film. While it's another singer who does the voice of Veronika, it works with Preisner's ambitious and evocative arrangements. Especially since the music would convey the grief and emotions that would come for the movie. Even in its simplicity, the emotional tone of music is very memorable with the use of the flute that is played. While doesn't have the ambitious variety of his work in the Trois Couleurs trilogy, Preisner's work is solid in every note and melody that is played in the film.

The film's cast is amazing with the sense of parallelism that goes throughout the film since it's often done in a different variety of styles. In the roles of the fathers, Wladyslaw Kowalski and Claude Duneton both provide the comfort figures of the two women. Halina Gryglaszewska also provides excellent work as Veronika's supportive and advising aunt while Sandrine Dumas gives a more troubling performance as Veronique's school colleague looking for a way out only to put Veronique in trouble. Alexander Bardini is brilliant in his role as the Polish conductor while Thierry de Carbonniere is also good in his brief role as Veronique's professor. In their respective roles as lovers, Jerzy Gudejko and Phillipe Volter are excellent with Gudejko providing a great performance as Veronika's boyfriend in their flourishing relationship. Yet it's Volter who really shines as Veronique's love interest who provides the answer to her own growth in grief.

The film's central performance of the title role is wonderfully performed with such complexity and grace by Irene Jacob. Jacob brings the freewheeling innocence and optimism of Veronika along with an illuminating beauty that is made for the cinema. She also brings the anguish and insecurities to both of her characters while it's in Veronique where a lot of the film's emotional depth is concerned. The fact that she plays two characters with similar qualities provides a lot more room for the actress where she would win the Best Actress prize at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. It's certainly deserving as she brings in one of her best performances to date that is heightened later by her work in Rouge.

***The Following is DVD Content & a New Conclusion Written on 8/27/10***

The 2006 Region 1 Criterion 2-disc DVD presents La Double Vie de Veronique with a brand new high definition digital transfer and remastered stereo sound in French and Polish.  The film is presented in the original 1:66:1 widescreen aspect ratio.  The transfer of the film in comparison to previous home video and DVD releases is phenomenal.  The film plays on the first disc which includes a feature-length commentary track from Annette Insdorf, an expert on Kieslowski.

Insdorf’s commentary goes into detail about Kieslowski’s directing style and how he presents things.  Even as he was shooting the film partially in Poland when it just got out of the era of Communism where he briefly shows a political protest in order to show that he’s moving away from politics.  Insdorf reveals the actress originally was set to play the dual roles of Weronika & Veronique is Andie MacDowell due to her performance in Steven Soderbergh’s landmark film sex, lies, & videotape.  Instead, Kieslowski with Irene Jacob whom he discovered from a small role in the Louis Malle film Au Revoir Les Enfants.

Insdorf also goes into tidbits about Kieslowski’s other collaborators, notably co-screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz, cinematographer Slawomir Idziak, and composer Zbigniew Preisner.  Even as they often work together prior to shooting about setting up visuals and other ideas while another collaborator in editor Jacques Witta helps Kieslowski out in the post-production setting.  Insdorf also goes into the presentation of the story and revealed that though Jacob did learn how to speak Polish.  Because of her French-Swiss accent, she had to be dubbed though it was believable enough to win her the Best Actress prize at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.  Insdorf’s commentary is definitely very intriguing to listen to while delving into a lot of Kieslowski’s previous films as well as the Trois Couleurs trilogy that followed.  Even as she talked about the U.S. ending that Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein wanted for American audiences which she didn’t like that much.

One small special feature that appears in the first disc is the U.S. ending of the film which is presented in a grainy copy.  The ending is more sentimental than the original film which was more ambiguous.  Yet, there was an explanation of why there was an alternate ending was because Weinstein wanted something more accessible for American audiences.  While it’s a decent ending, it’s not a strong as the one Kieslowski had intended which is more preferable.

Another special feature content in the first disc are four black and white short films.  Three of which were directed by Kieslowski and another by Kieslowski’s teacher Kazimierz Karabasz.  Karabasz’ 1958 documentary-short film The Musicians is about a group of men who take their free time to play music as a conductor tries to get the men to play right as a way to have joy in their repressed life.  The first of three Kieslowski documentary shorts is with 1970’s Factory is about a group of men struggling to make some changes for the factory they’re running in the hopes of improving it.  The second, called Hospital from 1976, is about the chaos that goes at a Polish hospital in the span of more than 24-hours where doctors and nurses are working with old equipment and machines that are barely working.  The fourth and final short is 1980’s Railway Station about an oppressive railway station where there’s delays, video cameras looking around, and people waiting for trains while dealing with the people who work there.  These shorts are wonderful as it reveals the harsh world of Communist-era Poland from the late 1950s to 1980.

The second disc features two documentaries and three interviews with the people involved with La Double Vie de Veronique.  The first documentary is a 50-minute 1991 making-of documentary called Kieslowski-Dialogue where it explores the making of La Double Vie de Veronique as well as Kieslowski discussing the film and his background.  The exclusive scenes of Kieslowski making the film with cinematographer Slawomir Idziak and editor Jacques Witta while showing how he presents things on set.  Kieslowski revels on the importance of collaborators while talking about the theme of the film.  The interview also has him talking about Poland during the Communist era where in 1970, he said he and his other filmmakers were lucky because of the small changes.  Despite the censors, they were able to make the kind of films they made as it is a wonderful, insightful documentary on Kieslowski and his views on cinema.

The second documentary called 1966-1988:  Kieslowski, Polish Filmmaker is about Kieslowski’s career from his early years to the release of The Decalogue as well as a brief insight to his career afterwards.  Directed by Luc Lagier, the film is separated into five parts with the first about Communist Poland after World War II and the emergence of Polish filmmakers in the 1950s that began with A Generation by Andrzej Wajda.  Though it was run by the government, the school was a place of freedom.  Even as it began a new wave of Polish cinema that included Roman Polanski.  Among those influenced by this new wave was Krzysztof Kieslowski who joins the Lodz film school in 1964 at age 23.  Two years later, he creates two short films in which the latter called The Office was a documentary short.

By the mid-1970s, Kieslowski wanted to move into making feature films and dramas that began with a TV Polish film in 1975.  It was around the same time a new era of Polish cinema was emerging where Kieslowski was a part of with his first theatrical-released feature film called The Scar.  This new era explored the harshness of Polish society and how people were living without dignity at the time during a period of political unrest.  Yet, The Scar and other films were being censored by the Polish government as Kieslowski’s 1979 film Camera Buff was a film about a man trying to explore the world through the camera as it expresses Kieslowski’s distaste towards documentaries at the time.

By 1980 when Lech Walsea emerged with the Solidarity movement following some political strikes.  Polish cinema experienced a brief period of freedom as Kieslowski made Blind Chance about a man going into different political parties only to leave it behind in the end.  The film was set for a fall 1981 release in Poland but political unrest by the Communist party and martial law changed everything.  Unable to make films for three years, Kieslowski returned with No End, the first of many collaborations with co-writer Krzysztof Piesiewicz about the mood of Poland during that dark period.  Four years later, Kieslowski and Piesiewicz created The Decalogue that included an expanded short called A Short Film About Killing that became Kieslowski’s international breakthrough.  The documentary is a great insight into not just Kieslowski’s early career but also Polish cinema up to the late 80s.

A 30-minute interview with cinematographer Slawomir Idziak has the cinematographer discussing his collaboration with Kieslowski.  Particularly their friendship that dates back to the early 70s.  The two didn’t work together at school because Kieslowski was a year behind him despite being a few years older.  Yet, they finally did work for a short film project years later as they frequently worked together.  With La Double Vie de Veronique, Idziak recalled the casting for Weronika/Veronique to be troubling as when Irene Jacob was considered.  Not everyone liked her as Kieslowski went to his daughter and her friends and they liked her so he ended up choosing Jacob.  

Idziak also talks about the filters that he created and the look of the film where he and Kieslowski had arguments about the look.  By the time it was to premiere at the 1991 Cannes film festival, Kieslowski learned that the color schemed he had suddenly changed back to what Idziak wanted as Kieslowski accepted the look.  Idziak also reflects on the collaboration between director and cinematographer as he talks about directors taking suggestions from their cinematographers which he feels is very important.  Something he felt is needed as he recalled the same kind of rapport he had with Ridley Scott when they did Black Hawk Down.  Idziak also reveals that he’s amazed by how influential Kieslowski is, even in somewhere like Ecuador where they still play his films in the theaters.

The second interview is with composer Zbigniew Preisner.  The composer talks about his collaboration with Kieslowski that began in the early 80s with No End.   Preisner talks about when composers had to create music for films or TV in order to be recorded because there was no other way at the time.  Preisner had only scored one film prior to meeting Kieslowski in the early 80s at a bar.  Preisner came from a different background from Kieslowski and other collaborators as he came from an arts club.  After No End, the two worked frequently as Kieslowski often invited him to the planning stages of films.

For La Double Vie de Veronique, lots of fragments of music was made prior to the film as they also used the pseudonym of Van Budenmeyer for a few pieces.  Preisner joked about the fact that he got sued by some people over plagiarizing the work of Van Budenmeyer that later got settled because he is Van Budenmeyer.  For a some of the vocal music on film, Preisner discovered a vocal student from a music school in Poland to do the voice while he was worried about how Irene Jacob would lip-sync only to be relieved that she was capable.  Preisner also states on the importance of collaboration between director and composer and how young students should learn from the masters including him and Kieslowski.

The third and final interview is with Irene Jacob as she discusses on working with Kieslowski on La Double Vie de Veronique.  Jacob recalls discovering Kieslowski through A Short Film About Love.  While she was working in the U.S., she got a call about a script from Kieslowski where the two met in Paris and eventually got the part.  Jacob talks about working with Kieslowski where they helped create the character while leaving room for improvisation.  Jacob also talks about how Kieslowski would direct a scene as she holds a picture of her looking in one direction while Kieslowski is talking to her and pointing in that same direction.  She says that’s how their relationship is and of all the film she’s done, La Double Vie de Veronique is the one she treasures the most.

Also included in the Criterion DVD is a booklet that includes three essays and selections from a 1993 book called Kieslowski on Kieslowski.  The first essay entitled Through the Looking Glass by film critic Jonathan Romney.  Romney discusses about the film’s impact at the Cannes Film Festival and its themes.  Romney also delves into Irene Jacob’s performance as well as Kieslowski’s direction and themes as well as its influence on other films.  The second essay entitled The Forced Choice of Freedom by Slavoj Zizek who discusses about Kieslowski’s themes of chance and its outcome as well as the idea of identity.  Even for the character of Veronique who ends up choosing a simpler life following her decision to quit singing.

The third essay called Kieslowski’s Muse by film historian Peter Cowie is about Irene Jacob, the star of La Double Vie de Veronique and Trois Couleurs:  Rouge.  Cowie talks about Jacob’s performance as well as how her performance was the heart and soul of the film.  Even in the little things she did in Veronique as it gave Kieslowski reason to cast her in Rouge.  He also recalled her brave speech at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival where she paid tribute to Kieslowski just after his death.  The last piece of the booklet are selections from the 1993 Faber & Faber book Kieslowski on Kieslowski.  Entitled Pure Emotion:  La Double Vie de Veronique, the material is essentially Kieslowski talking about the film as well as the trouble of making it when Andie MacDowell was set to be in the film.  He also talked about how much he loved working with Jacob as well as some of the film’s technical pointers and themes.  Even in the idea of creating multiple endings for the film to be played of each theater in Paris but proved to be expensive.

The Criterion DVD is truly superb as it one of the best works that the Criterion Collection has created.  Even as it’s a film that has paved the way for other kinds of film ranging from Sliding Doors to the notorious 2007 flop I Know Who Killed Me.  Yet, it's also a film that would help inspire the hyperlink film genre of the films of Tom Tykwer and Alejandro Gonzalez Innarittu.  It's a film that remains of one of Kieslowski's essential films even after his untimely death in 1996.

La Double Vie de Veronique is a remarkable and powerful film from Krzysztof Kieslowski featuring a radiant, tour-de-force performance from Irene Jacob.  While it’s no doubt that this is one of Kieslowski’s finest films and definitely ranks with the Trois Couleurs trilogy.  It’s also one of the greatest films of the 1990s while it also serves as an excellent introduction to Kieslowski himself.  In the end, La Double Vie de Veronique is a haunting and entrancing yet ethereal film from Krzysztof Kieslowski.

Krzysztof Kiewslowski Films: (The Scar) - (Camera Buff) - (Short Working Day) - Blind Chance - (No End) - (A Short Film About Killing) - (A Short Film About Love) - The Decalogue - Trois Couleurs: Bleu - Trois Couleurs: Blanc - Trois Couleurs: Rouge

© thevoid99 2010