The Double Life of Veronique

I don't want to write for too long tonight, although I think that might be hard to do because I really loved today's movie. I'm not feeling so well - I actually left work early today. I called my doctor to explain my wide range of seemingly unconnected symptoms, and they seemed really concerned about them and wanted me to come in right away. I think there was some worry that I might have had some sort of altitude-related sickness or maybe like, lyme diease or something, who knows. Luckily for me, I have neither - just an extremely bad bacterial infection and a compressed nerve in my leg. I'm glad that I went in, because my doctor said my infection could have gotten a lot worse if it wasn't treated. Although I'm skeptical of these antibiotics which have a huge warning that they can cause sporadic tendon rupture. Eeep! They're making me a little sick to my stomach, and I just want to make sure I get some rest so I can recover from this nastiness.

Blah blah blah. Today I watched The Double Life of Veronique, directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski in 1991. I have truly loved all of his films that I've seen for this project, and I was really excited to see another one of his works. I'm so glad I watched it, because I love this so much as well.

Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy

Today I watched the last film in the Three Colors Trilogy. I really enjoyed all of them, and am so happy to have finally seen them. The three films were directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski, and the last one, Red, was completed in 1994. Ebert writes that he planned to retire from filmmaking after these were finished - and he did. He died two years later, only 56.

I really have loved all of the films that I have seen from him. They really have a great sense of artistry and feel unique to me. I like how ambiguous they all are, too. There isn't just one clear-cut meaning for all the films, and they give me a lot to think about after they are over. The Three Colors trilogy is no different. There is so much meaning to be found, and there are lots of symbols and themes that come up in all three movies. It makes it really fun (for dorks like me) to ponder about afterward.

Kieślowski's Three Colors Trilogy

Just a heads up of some kind.  I'm watching Blue, White, and Red, from Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colors Trilogy right now. I am ashamed to say that I've never seen them before, but I watched Blue last night, and was really moved by it. It was a truly beautiful film and I can't wait to watch the other two. I'll post about them all together once I'm done. Kieślowski directed The Decalogue, which I really loved as well, so I'm excited to finally check these out.

Nikita lounges on a swing outside.

The Decalogue

It is rare to see long-form story done so well. We're used to seeing it on TV. Most of those aren't that well done, though. There is an art to being able to tell a long story and wrap it up at some point. To end it. We don't often see things like that anymore, in a world where to be a "good television writer" means to shoot for syndication so you don't have to work anymore. Over the last three days, I watched The Decalogue, a ten-part, made for TV series directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski in 1988. In my mind, 'made for TV' is a dirty phrase. Only the worst things are made for TV, like that horrible remake of The Shining I watched when I was a kid. That defines 'made for TV'. Television is where you can go to commit that sort of blasphemy. This series is nothing like that. I had so many bad feelings going into this, but I came away really surprised.

The Next Three Days...

For January 15, 16, and 17, I'm going to be watching The Decalogue, a series of ten, one-hour Polish films (er, TV shows, really) from 1988 directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski. The films are based off of the Catholic Ten Commandments. I'll do a post about all of them when I am done watching, but after the first three today, I am already really surprised by how much I am loving these.
Hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing weekend!