The Double Life of Veronique

BySheikh Javed Mansuri
The Double Life of Veronique

A romantic triangle is one of the most common storylines in film. The characters are usually pretty well defined: a well meaning guy with a raging libido, a gorgeous woman with loose morals, and a sweet sensible girl pining for a husband. And of course, there is sex. But what if a film replaces this formula by replacing the libido with the intellect? Would it make things any less complicated? This is the intriguing concept of My Night at Maud’s, the third film in Eric Rohmer’s series, Six Moral Tales. 

Jean-Louis, a recent convert to Catholicism, faithfully attends Mass, where one day he catches the eye of a pretty lady named Françoise. He decides that he wants to pursue a relationship with her. But then an old friend invites him to visit his friend Maud, an attractive divorcee, in her apartment. The two of them engage in philosophical discussions that test Jean-Louis’ intellect and spiritual convictions, and Maud invites him to stay the night.  

Now Jean-Louis faces a couple of moral quandaries. One is obvious: will he sleep with Maud? But the other is: has he already pledged his heart? Will he choose his intellectual soul-mate—the free-thinking Maud—or his spiritual one—the religious Françoise?  

The resolution to this dilemma turns the table on the Hollywood depiction of modern romance. A man and a woman share a bed together and do nothing but, talk? A romantic triangle that isn’t resolved with sex, money, or power, but instead turns on a debate about the philosophy of Blaise Pascal? And a film that respects the minds and hearts of men and women more than their libidos? How liberating! 

—Jim Sanders

  1. Directed by: Krzysztof Kieslowski
  2. Produced by: Leonardo De La Fuente
  3. Written by: Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof Piesiewicz
  4. Music by: Zbigniew Preisner
  5. Cinematography by: Slawomir Idziak
  6. Editing by: Jacques Witta
  7. Release Date: 1991
  8. Running Time: 98
  9. Language: French, Polish, Italian

Arts & Faith Lists:

2011 Top 100 — #63

Similar Posts

  • Dead Man Walking

    BySheikh Javed Mansuri

    Appreciation coming.  Directed by: Tim Robbins Produced by: Jon Kilik Tim Robbins Rudd Simmons Written by: Helen Prejean Tim Robbins Music by: David Robbins Cinematography by: Roger Deakins Editing by: Lisa Zeno Churgin Ray Hubley Release Date: 1995 Running Time: 122 Language: English Arts & Faith Lists: 2005 Top 100 — #15 2006 Top 100…

  • Selma

    BySheikh Javed Mansuri

    “Three hundred years of humiliation, abuse and deprivation cannot be expected to find voice in a whisper. The storm clouds did not release a ‘gentle rain from heaven,’ but a whirlwind, which has not yet spent its force or attained its full momentum.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Selma, Alabama, March 1965 was part of the…

  • Still Life

    BySheikh Javed Mansuri

    Still Life is director Jia Zhangke’s meditation on the effects—personal, societal, and environmental—that occur during the building of the magnificent Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River in central China. As the dam moves closer to completion, authorities hold back more and more water, meaning that low-lying communities close to the dam will soon be underwater….

  • Lawrence of Arabia

    BySheikh Javed Mansuri

    If, as they say, writing about music is like dancing about architecture, then how does one describe a film like Koyaanisqatsi (1983), which has no actors, no dialogue, and no plot, but consists instead of nothing but music and images (some of which, incidentally, do happen to revolve around architecture)? Well, we can begin by looking at…

  • The Child

    BySheikh Javed Mansuri

    After four consecutive “masterpieces,” what did the Dardenne brothers do? Make another movie every bit as good as those. Like La Promesse, Rosetta, and The Son, The Child (L’Enfant) is a subtle parable about tests of conscience and character in a punishing world. We’re introduced to Bruno (the extraordinary Jérémie Renier). He’s young, but he’s already a hardened criminal….