Have You Seen...? The Double Life of Veronique (1991)

1hr 38mins / Drama / France

It's hard to think too many foreign filmmakers who've managed to exert a strong influence on the mindset of Western movie-goers. Kar Wai? Possibly. Herzog? Potentially. Haneke? Likely. But then there's Krystof Kieslowski who for a time in the early 90s became the go-to man for arthouse cinema. While he found most of his fame working outside his native Poland, he never stopped carrying the ethos he established while working on documentaries in his homeland. The Three Colours Trilogy represents his most recognised effort but I personally find it easier to be enamoured by the film that preceded directly proceeded it, the dreamy and emotive The Double Life of Veronique.

In his time, Kieslowski espoused a talent for portraying the inner-sense of his characters and in The Double Life of Veronique he provides this with a wistful search for identity through the main characters, Veronique and Weronika. The story is difficult to pinpoint exactly but it concerns them and unseen link which leads to a sense of unknown loss once tragedy strikes. While Kies famously denied the point was to dwell on metaphors, it never stops us from trying to do so and the film is both poetic and challenging. In the end, we're left with a visual poem; a film that evinces a mirrored image of beauty and tragedy with elusive editing and dream-like cinematography.

Why You Should Watch It

Because even in spite of the fragmented narrative it's a fantastic character piece which outlines the way film can naturally illustrate the unknowable qualities of life. Also, it's sort of like a much better version of Amelie.

Don't Listen To Us!

"The Double Life of Veronique is a much harder film to grasp than the Three Colors trilogy or Heaven, all of which are more plot-heavy and accessible. In Double Life, there is great dependence on precise images to make a point — little nuances of facial expressions, the warm and moody lighting. Kieslowski is very careful about composition and editing." - Tao Yue

"All this warping, shifting, reflecting, and hiding makes The Double Life Of Veronique feel more abstract than solid. Kieslowski tells the story from impressionistic angles that become dizzying, because they veer so often from painfully intimate to deliberately distancing. When he makes his audience squint through lace or stare into firelight-colored flares to see his protagonists, he puts them at a remove that feels odd, coming juxtaposed with scenes where the camera crawls into bed with those protagonists at particularly intimate moments. Again and again, he makes a point of giving viewers off-kilter views of the world" - Tasha Robinson (The Dissolve)

Did You Know?

Kieslowski originally wanted Andie MacDowell to play Veronique. Like that would have worked.

Available On

Blu-Ray and DVD [US] [UK]

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Have you seen... ? Shallow Grave (1994)

18 / 1hr 32mins / Crime

Though us Brits are used to Hollywood nabbing our best talents, Danny Boyle is one it's quite easy to overlook. Most of his films have been a bit naff (not bad; just average), aside from the notable exceptions of his debut films, Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. Both mark a different style of filmmaking to the type that would go on to net him the Best Director award at the 2008 Academy Awards and show a more down-to-Earth style than grandiose efforts like Slumdog Millionaire or Steve Jobs.

Many might argue for Trainspotting, but for my money Shallow Grave that represents the best of what Boyle offers. A grim satirical farce, it sheds light on the dark psychological drives that consume us when money makes an appearance and its witty script represents a poignant study of how people act when each is trying to achieve the same thing. Simply concerned with getting one over on each other for the sake of money, none of its morally challenged characters comes across well but the result is a richly cathartic comeuppance.

Plot

David (Christopher Eccleston), Juliet (Kerry Fox) and Alex (Ewan McGregor) are three Edinburghians hunting for a fourth flatmate, even though any rational person would see them as the sort of mildly obnoxious people you wouldn't want to share fridge space with. They eventually settle on the mysterious Hugo (Keith Allen), a decision which swiftly turns out to be a big mistake, for the next day he turns up dead in his bedroom with a suitcase full of cash under the bed.

Why Should You Watch It?

Because it's a comedy about well-off people getting their comeuppance and that's always a great subject.

Don't Listen To Us

"While Shallow Grave is unquestionably dark, it’s never nihilistic. Partly it’s the performances, lively and venomous by turn; partly it’s Hodge’s wit; and partly it’s Danny Boyle’s direction, which uses the rock-solid plot as an excuse for all kinds of gleeful visual flourishes. It’s like watching a cartoon full of punchlines and violence, only here the wounds don’t vanish between frames." - (Zack Handlen, A.V. Club)

"The filmmakers’ unsentimental take on their characters is refreshing; no facile excuses are offered. The movie, Boyle emphasized at the time of its release, “is not about class or society, or people being crushed by forces they can’t control. Everybody takes responsibility for their decisions. We didn’t want this film soaked in British social realism.” - (Philip Kemp, Criterion)

Did You Know?

In order to aid the realism, Danny Boyle had the three main actors live together for several weeks inside a similar apartment to the Scottish tenement building where the film is set. 

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