The film “La double vie de Véronique” (1991) is a French-Polish fantasy drama film that uses architecture as an important part of its story. The film explores the life of the central character, Weronika, and her connection to the architecture of the city.
“La double vie de Véronique” (1991) is a French-Polish fantasy drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski. The film tells the story of two women, Weronika and Véronique, who live in different countries and have never met, but are identical in appearance and are connected in some mysterious way. The film uses architecture as an important part of its story, both in terms of the physical spaces where the story takes place and as a metaphor for the different paths that the two women’s lives take.
The film uses the architecture of the cities where the story takes place – Krakow, Poland and Paris, France – to create a sense of place and to convey the different moods and atmospheres of the two cities. The use of color is also used to create a sense of contrast between the two cities. The film also uses the architecture of the cities as a metaphor for the different paths that the two women’s lives take.
In addition to that, The film also uses the theme of duality in the architecture as it mirrors the duality in the story, where Weronika and Véronique are two different people, yet they are connected in some mysterious way, this also applies to the architecture where it reflects the two different cities, two different cultures, two different ways of living and two different paths that the two women’s lives take.
In summary, “La double vie de Véronique” (1991) is a film that uses architecture as an important part of its story, both in terms of the physical spaces where the story takes place, the use of color and the contrast between the two cities and as a metaphor for the different paths that the two women’s lives take, reflecting the theme of duality that is present in the story.
Main characteristics
Managemnet Krzysztof Kieslowski
Release date Jenuary of 1992
Duration 1hour 38 minutes
Locations of the filming Main Market Square, Cracovia, Polonia
Business productors Sideral Productions, Canal +, Zespol Filmowy
Principal actors Irène Jacob and Philippe Volter
Gender Drame, Fantastic, musical and romance
The roll of architecture in this film
In terms of architecture, the film features several shots of the city of Krakow, Poland, where one of the main characters, Weronika, lives. The architecture in these scenes is typical of Eastern European cities, with a mix of medieval, Baroque, and communist-era buildings. The film also features shots of the city of Paris, France, where the other main character, Véronique, lives. The architecture in these scenes is typical of Paris, with shots of the famous landmarks such as Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.
Overall, the architecture in the film serves as a visual representation of the differences in the lives of the two main characters and their respective cultures.
In my personal opinion, i really like this movie. I’ve watch the movie a lot of times becouse me and my mother, who also is an architect liked how the movie represent the big differences in two worlds completly different. Although is a little old, it show how to important was the architecture years ago. The romantic music accompany how swet and natural the movie is.