This film reminded me how much I really loved Irène Jacob in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s other film THREE COLORS: RED. She is stunning here. and has such a presence in the scenes she is in. You can’t help but adore her from her youthful face to her singing talents to her infectious smile and laughter and even in moments of emotional evisceration. I don’t have any idea what Kieślowski is trying to say about duplicity, the grief Véronique feels, or the puppet guy’s parable with the extra puppet. Frankly, I’m okay without understanding it, I still like it. It feels like its summing up a part of what it is like to be alive, while never able to articulate what that feeling is. The cinematography is the main thing to really focus on here. The way the camera sways in POV shots that feel disorientating and organic. Then you have other moments where lights are the star — like the concert scene. Color is used in such a unique way. I feels spread out across the whole frame like a painting in a museum. If you look in one corner you see something different than what’s in the other side of the frame. It can be red or yellow it is at times, but with blues and grays creeping in as well. There is a grittiness to the color too — so it never feels loud except when it comes to the color green which is ever present, especially in the second half of the film. It’s similar to the beginning and final scenes of STALKER if it was toned down about 50%. I also LOVE the shot of Weronika early in the film when she is filmed through the reflection of the window (pictured below). It makes it feel like there are ghostly shapes around her. I have also never been so taken with a puppet show before, but also it was a little expressionistic and deep for the little kids that were watching it. Even a little girl turn to Véronique in fear at one moment.
