The Cinematography OF

The Double Life of Veronique (1991)

I am struck by the similarities between this movie and some of Jean Pierre Jeunets work on Amelie. The color palettes, the look of the main actress, even some specific shots seem to be taken from this movie.

The door at the end of the hallway

The flashing of the signal mirror

The ride on the back of a motorcycle

Coincidence? Who knows. They are both beautiful films and quite different from each other but I’d love to sit down and talk to Jeunet about it some day.

6 Responses

  1. Excellent observations! I just watched “Double Life” for the first time, and googled “Double Life / Amelie” because Amelie’s whole “wooing by means of puzzles/clues” storyline seemed ripped right out of the earlier film (albeit in a more ‘modern’ form, in Amelie — insofar as the woman is equally the ‘wooer’!) But your observations about the visuals (the mirror and the motorcycle) really seal the deal: Jeunet either consciously or unconsciously had a lot of Kieslowski on the brain!

  2. Absolutely! I’m wonderstruck by the many and “obvious” similarities (took me a while to pinpoint them, though). I’m looking forward to watching both again with that in mind.

    1. You know, I hate to admit it but “Double life” is one of the few films I’ve posted that I haven’t actually seen. I was comparing it completely from a visual standpoint. I look forward to watching it and comparing the stories too. I’ll reserve further opinion until then.

  3. You can see how the basic look – the colour palette – has been used by other films subsequently. I wonder how difficult it was to get consistent colours in the days before digital colour correction.

  4. The is a lot of similarity indeed, even the girl looks like a more realistic ”Amelie”. Jeunet must have been a fan of Kielowski’s works and inspired by this film. I find it possible. Could you upload the cinematography of ”Three Colors: Red”? One of Kielowski’s finest films and a nominee for Best Cinematography at the Academy Awards.

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