Endings

Kieslowski did not know how to end “The Double Life of Veronique.” At one point in the editing process, he considered opening the film in 18 Paris theaters and having a different ending in each. And, in fact, the film has two different official endings. There is the version of the film that was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and released in most of the world, the one I will describe here, and a different one for its theatrical release in the U.S. The rights to the film were purchased in the U.S. by Miramax, and its CEO Harvey Weinstein insisted on tacking on an additional shot that, in my opinion, adds absolutely nothing to the film.

The final segment finds Veronique waking in a different bed, not the one in the hotel room from the scene before. It consists of a mattress on the floor, which doesn’t suit the way Veronique lived either in her apartment or her father’s home. But while this arrangement suggests something bohemian, when Veronique gets out of bed and starts navigating the flat, she’s in a massive maze. It seems to be the middle of a night. Green light casts shadows throughout. In a living room, there’s a flickering TV with no picture – suggesting a time when broadcasting had ended for the night (this is something that indeed used to happen as late as the early 90s.)

Veronique finally reached an artist’s studio, and there we see Alexandre at work on puppets. A couple things are important to point out here: first, we have no idea how much time has passed between that last scene and this one, but what follows suggests that there has been some time for Alexandre to begin and plan a new creative project. It should also be noted that he likely had some time to wind down the last one because he’s not at work on a novel, he’s back to his puppet shows. But, of course, it could be that he creates these on separate tracks, that the puppets are his regular source of income and his writing is his alternate creative life.

We also don’t know if Veronique now lives in this apartment, although there is a very brief glimpse of moving boxes at one point of her long walk to the studio, perhaps suggesting that she has just moved in, adding to her disorientation. There is no way to find answers to these questions, they merely deepen the possibilities of what Kieslowski was up to in his conclusion.

Veronique sees Alexandre at work on a puppet and asks “is that me?” She has a big smile on her face as she does, and he replies “of course it is.” I need to point out that the puppet actually looks nothing like Veronique and I don’t know why she would recognize herself in it, the features of the puppet’s face are very masculine and Irene Jacob is about as feminine looking as a person can be. I also need to point out the odd synchronicity of this ending — that we are dealing with puppets and in my day job, I’ve spent this week crafting a speech that features a puppet meant to look like the speaker.  Life has a funny way of rhyming and I’m sure Kieslowski would appreciate this.

What comes next is strange and makes me question Alexandre’s honesty. Veronique sees a second puppet of herself and asks “why two?” Alexandre replies that he handles the puppets a lot, so he needs a backup. This may be true, but it doesn’t really answer her question, because she’s beginning to intuit what’s going on here. Alexandre asks her to play with the puppet a bit and Veronique moves her hands gently. The camera pans down to the second puppet, laying on the table inert. Alexandre then asks “shall I read it to you?”

Alexandre tells a story of two girls born on the same day in two different countries. They had the same physical features. When one put her hand on a hot stove, the other would feel it and know to keep away from them in the future. He says that he is going to call it “The Double Life of …” and that he hasn’t decided on their names yet. He asks if she likes it.  Veronique doesn’t say a word, but you can read the devastation on her face and see tears in her eyes. She turns away from Alexandre and walks out of the room. You can briefly see her in a mirror — creating one last double — as she leaves.

Does Veronique leave for good at this point? The movie is unclear. Alexandre has clearly stolen her life for art and done so without her permission. He’s touched the part of her life that is most tender and made it his own. I have deep sympathy for Veronique in this moment. I deeply dislike people telling others’ stories as if they were their own, it’s something I have to deal with in my work often. I try, as best as possible, to empower people to tell their own stories. So, I would fully understand if Veronique packed up at this moment and never came back. But maybe her devastation is deeper. Maybe the sorrow she felt was for Weronika and the life she lived apparently in preparation for Veronique.

The movie ends with Veronique returning home. It’s a very simple cycle filled with small gestures. Veronique pulls her car up to the trees she earlier stared at out the window and caresses it gently. I earlier suggested that the tree symbolized her mother, but perhaps it symbolizes Weronika. Again, we cannot know. At the same moment, we witness her father inside the house have a pang of empathetic pain for Veronique. The film ends with her hands on the tree.

The Weinstein version of the film has father and daughter embrace in one more shot. To me, that’s unnecessary.  We already know of their bond and their love.

I feel a bit sad to be winding up “The Double Life of Veronique,” it’s a beautiful, lyrical film that I’ve enjoyed exploring.  But my Kieslowski series is not complete. Up next is Episode 9 from “The Dekalog,” the TV episode that first introduced Van den Budenmeyer. And then it’s on to parts two and three from “Three Colors.”