Director Watch Podcast Ep. 71 – ‘The Double Life of Veronique’ (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1991)

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 71 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the first film in their Krzysztof Kieślowski series, The Double Life of Veronique (1991).

Known for being a documentarian in the 1970s and making smaller, personal films and television shows in the 1980s, Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski broke through in the 1990s with four films that became some of the most influential films of the last 30 years. For the first film in this month long series, Kieślowski dives into the world of two young girls (both played by Irène Jacob) who feels connected to each other, a bond that transcends time, language and geography. In a unconventional, beautiful version of a coming of age story, Ryan and Jay talk about their relationship with Krzysztof Kieślowski, thoughts on the film, the differences between Weronika and Véronique, sex used as a vital tool for storytelling, the film’s haunting tone and ending, and many stories about Jay’s recent family Disney trip.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h04m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski with a review of his film, Three Colours: Blue. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)