Thursday, May 14, 2026 From 6:00 PM To 8:00 PM Add to Calendar 2026-05-14 18:00:00 2026-05-14 20:00:00 Ciné Club Series: The Double Life of Véronique by Krzysztof Kieślowski A story of two connected lives, The Double Life of Véronique by Krzysztof Kieślowski is a must-see for lovers of European cinema and great film music. French Library, 53 Marlborough Street, Boston, MA, United States America/New_York
At French Library
Filmed between Kraków and Paris just after the fall of Communism, The Double Life of Véronique is one of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s most celebrated films and remains a landmark of European cinema.
The story follows two young women, both named Véronique, living in different cities but sharing striking similarities. In Warsaw, Weronika is a gifted young singer who lives intensely despite her fragile heart. In Paris, Véronique is a music teacher with the same talent and the same quiet vulnerability. Both are played by Irène Jacob, whose performance won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival. Though the two women have never met, their lives echo one another in subtle and unexpected ways.
Elevated by the unforgettable music of Zbigniew Preisner, the film unfolds like a musical composition. As Roger Ebert wrote, “Preisner’s score is one of the most haunting and beautiful in modern cinema.” Built around the imagined composer Van den Budenmayer, the music is central to the film’s emotional pull and shapes the entire experience.
With its stunning images, moving performances, and extraordinary soundtrack, The Double Life of Véronique is not a film to analyze, it is one to experience
After the screening, we are delighted to welcome special guest Michael Warnoffsky, professor at Berklee College of Music, whose expertise in film scoring will shed light on Zbignew Preisner’s contribution to the film
The conversation will be led by Barbara Bouquegneau, President and Executive Director of the French Library
Watch the trailer
The evening will include a reception where guests can connect and share their thoughts over a glass of wine
Movie in French with English subtitles.
In the U.S., The Double Life of Véronique is rated R by the MPAA. In France, it has been classified as suitable for all ages, but we recommend parental guidance due to mature and sexual thematic elements.
About Krzysztof Kieślowski
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Kieślowski took a radical departure from his reality-grounded films to serve as a vanguard of European art-house cinema in the 1990s, starting with the French-Polish co-production The Double Life of Véronique in 1991. He would go on to create his magnum opus, the Three Colors Trilogy (Bleu, Blanc, Rouge, 1993-1994), which explores the tenets of French society through the colors of the French flag.
About Zbigniew Preisner
Considered one of Poland's leading film composers, Zbigniew Preisner (1955-) is best known for his work with Krzysztof Kieślowski. Preisner first collaborated with the director on his 1985 film No End and would go on to collaborate on all of his subsequent films. In a 2016 interview with The Village Voice, Preisner characterized his music as playing a “metaphysical role” and serving as a “dramatic axis” in film. Alongside Kieślowski, Zbigniew Preisner invented fake, 18th-century Dutch composer Van den Budenmayer, to whom some of Preisner’s bigger, symphonic works are attributed in The Dekalog (1988), The Double Life of Véronique (1991) and the Three Colors Trilogy (1993-1994). Beyond Kieślowski, Preisner has scored many feature films with notable directors such as Agnieszka Holland, Thomas Vinterberg, and Louis Malle. Among his many awards, Preisner has received the Silver Bear from the Berlin Film Festival and two César Awards. He is a member of the French Film Academy and the European Film Academy.
About Michael Wartofsky
Michael Wartofsky is a professor in the Songwriting Department at Berklee College of Music, where he established the musical theater writing minor and cofounded the Curtain Up student songwriting contest. He received Berklee’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 2018. His musical All the Possibilities features Broadway stars performing his original songs. Wartofsky has composed several musicals including Car Talk: The Musical!!!, Cupcake, and The Man in My Head, and is the music composer for the musical LATE, responding to the epidemic of school shootings.
About Barbara Bouquegneau
Barbara Bouquegneau is the President and Executive Director of the French Library. She holds a Master of Science in Film Production from Boston University and has curated the Library’s cinema program for many years, offering local audiences a rich selection of French films. Her passion for cinema and cultural dialogue continues to foster thoughtful conversations around both contemporary and classic works of French filmmaking.
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